Friends and relatives have endured over a day of silence as they await to hear from the New Quay woman detained by Israeli forces.

Hannah Schafer sailed as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla as it attempted to break the Israeli aid blockade to Gaza.

Her boat was illegally boarded by the Israeli Navy along with the 41 other vessels that formed the flotilla earlier this week - support teams lost contact with the crew at 1am on 2 October.

Since then, loved ones haven’t had any contact with the 62-year-old sailing instructor, but activists are expected to be moved to the notorious Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert in Israel to await deportation.

The on-the-ground support team for the Sumud Flotilla said: “We know that the British consulate in Israel has not visited the detainees today (2 October), and we have not heard from the lawyers.

“It's Yom Kippur (a Jewish holy day), and offices are closed.”

The UK Foreign Office has since expressed “extreme concern” for the safety of those heading to the prison.

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem last year shared a report with testimonies of Palestinians taken to Ketziot since 7 October 2023, describing beatings, humiliation, torture, sexual violence and a denial of sanitation and food.

Siobhan Schafer, Hannah’s sister, said she expected there to be no contact with her if she was detained and that any updates would now likely come “based on nationality”.

Reacting to the news, Siobhan said: “We had prepared for this.

“I really felt sad for a moment because I wanted their mission to succeed – but there is such success!

“International pressure to lift the blockade is rising.

“More boats are on their way.

“Flotilla supporters understand that lifting the blockade is the only humanitarian way forward.”

According to her friends, Hannah has been involved in activism her whole life, from attending the Greenham Common peace camp in the 80s, to getting arrested during anti-apartheid actions against South Africa in Liverpool, to taking a hospital job to help with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Siobhan added: “Talking with my 14-year-old daughter, GiGi, I realised if this is how Hannah dies, she'll be so full of life in that moment – taking action for her deeply held beliefs and using all her skills and assets to the max. Hannah would die happy.

“There's immense beauty and comfort in that.

“The victims of war, genocide and starvation are not dying after a life of adventure and choosing to live generously.”

Four activists have so far been deported to Italy out of the estimated 470 activists detained from 42 vessels.

In an X post made earlier today (3 October), Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused the Sumud flotilla activists of being linked to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas: “Procedures are underway to wrap up the Hamas-Sumud provocation and to finalise the deportation of the participants in this sham...

“The rest are in the process of being deported.

“Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible.”

The Ministry described the aid mission as “nothing but provocation”, having offered to “peacefully transfer” the aid to Gaza.

Major humanitarian groups including Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) state they have been blocked from delivering a single truck of aid to Palestinians since 2 March this year.

A UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said: “We are extremely concerned about the situation with the Sumud flotilla, we are in touch with the families of those British nationals involved, and we have been in contact with the Israeli authorities to make clear that we expect the situation to be resolved safely, with due respect for the rights of all those on board, and in line with International Law.

"No one would be trying to deliver aid directly via this route if the Israeli government had not placed completely unacceptable restrictions on the flow of aid, creating a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

"It is the responsibility of the Israeli government to immediately and unconditionally lift restrictions on aid so that the UN and NGOs can deliver food, medicine and other essentials to civilians in desperate need.

"That requires the opening of land routes so that aid can be delivered into Gaza through safe and established channels, at the pace and volume that is required to meet the scale of this humanitarian crisis.”