Nelson Mandela's Grandson Returns to South Africa After Detention and Deportation from Gaza Aid Flotilla

Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla Mandela.

Johannesburg:

The grandson of late South African president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela returned to Johannesburg on Wednesday following his detention and subsequent deportation by Israel. Israeli authorities had prevented the aid flotilla he participated in from reaching Gaza.

Mandla Mandela, aged 51, arrived home alongside four fellow South Africans. He reported that their group had been held in an Israeli prison facility for six days before being released through Jordan.

"We were handcuffed with cable ties secured tightly behind our backs, removed from our vessels, positioned on the platform and displayed for all to witness," Mandela recounted at the airport, where supporters greeted him while waving Palestinian flags.

"However, this experience pales in comparison to what Palestinians endure on a daily basis," he added, referencing Israel's ongoing military campaign against Hamas following their deadly attack on Israel two years prior.

Israeli officials have maintained that reports of hunger in Gaza are exaggerated and characterized the flotilla as merely a publicity effort benefiting Hamas. They have rejected allegations of mistreatment toward the hundreds of detained individuals, among whom was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.