Thomas Hayes, an associate professor at Ohio University’s School of Film, was reportedly abducted by the Israeli military early Wednesday while volunteering on a humanitarian aid mission to Gaza.
Hayes departed Sept. 30 aboard the Conscience, a vessel operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organizes international missions to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver supplies to civilians. The boat carried dozens of journalists, filmmakers and aid workers from 25 countries, including Hayes, who joined as a media volunteer.
According to the coalition’s public tracker, the Conscience was intercepted Oct. 8 at 4:30 a.m. UTC, or 12:30 a.m. ET, at coordinates 31.7981, 31.7720, roughly 150 miles off the coast of Gaza.
According to Al Jazeera, the passengers are being held in unknown conditions and are being transported to the Israeli port of Ashdod to be deported.
The FFC said the Conscience had previously been targeted in May 2025, when the boat was bombed by Israeli forces off the coast of Malta before being repaired and relaunched for this mission.
"The University is aware of the rumors that have been recently circulating, and we are looking further into the matter," Dan Pittman, a university spokesperson, wrote in an email.
