Thiago Ávila
Thiago de Ávila e Silva Oliveira is a Brazilian humanitarian and climate activist. He gained international recognition as one of the participants aboard the June 2025 Gaza Freedom Flotilla and other humanitarian aid missions to the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory under Israeli blockade.
Early life and activism
Thiago Ávila was born in 1986 in the federal capital, Brasília. In 2022, he ran for federal deputy under the Socialism and Liberty Party.In June 2024, Ávila participated in the "International Summit on Gaza" in Tehran, Iran, an event attended by local authorities such as Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. He also attended the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon, where he acted as a documentarian of "violations committed by Israel", according to his interview with Arab-1.
Ávila's work earned him recognition from the Embassy of Iran in Brasília, which highlighted his "communication work and solidarity with the Palestinian people".
Gaza flotillas
In June 2025, Ávila was part of the crew of the Madleen – a vessel that departed from Catania, Italy, carrying medical supplies, food, and hygiene items to Gaza. The initiative, organized by pro-Palestinian coalitions, aimed to symbolically break the reinforced Israeli blockade amid the Gaza genocide and denounce the "collective punishment" against Palestinians. Among the participants were Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan.The vessel was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea and towed to the port of Ashdod. The incident has been described by organizers as a "kidnapping by Israeli forces"; Israel claimed the action was justified to prevent a breach of its naval blockade, which, however, is considered unlawful according to international law. Ávila and the other crew members were detained for deportation. On 10 June 2025, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Ávila was being held in an Israeli detention center after refusing to sign deportation documents. Brazilian diplomats provided consular assistance, and the Brazilian government formally requested Ávila's release, reiterating its opposition to the Israeli blockade on Gaza and emphasizing the urgency of the humanitarian crisis in the region. Between 11 and 12 June 2025, he was held in solitary confinement in Ayalon Prison after going on a dry hunger strike. He was released that day and deported to Brazil. In an official statement, the National Council for Human Rights, which is linked to the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, classified the case as a kidnapping and a war crime.
Following the Israeli capture of yet another aid ship in July 2025, Ávila joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was the largest civilian effort to break the siege of Gaza and set sail between August and September 2025. He was part of the steering committee alongside Thunberg and several other activists. After the GSF's boarding by Israel in early October, he was again arrested and went on a hunger strike alongside other activists. He was expelled shortly after, landing in São Paulo on 9 October.