The Foreign Ministry responded to claims by Gaza flotilla activists who were detained and transferred to Israel, who alleged they were tortured and beaten. "Contrary to the false and baseless claims prepared in advance, at no stage did Saif Abu Qashaq and Thiago Avila undergo torture. Following violent physical blocking against Israeli crew members, the crew was forced to act in order to stop these actions," it was stated. "During the process of transferring the passengers to Greek forces, several passengers refused and began rioting violently. In order to deal with the violence and complete the transfer, a policing unit operating on board an IDF vessel was forced to use force."