Italy just put Israel's defence minister under investigation for alleged torture

Israel's prison service has denied all of it, calling the allegations false and entirely without factual basis.

So why does this matter now? Because Italy's investigation used to be about one man.

Italy opened its probe into Ben-Gvir back in June. That made Italy the second European country after France to formally investigate how Israel treated the detained activists.

Ben-Gvir brushed it off at the time. He says quote "continue to stand proudly alongside our fighters".

Now that same investigation has grown. From one minister, to Israel's defence minister, and 12 more officials — including the man who runs Israel's entire military.

Prosecutors sent Israel a request for judicial assistance back in June. They asked for help reconstructing events and working out who is responsible. They have not said whether Israel ever answered.

Rome prosecutors have also held talks at Eurojust, the European Union's judicial cooperation body. Why? Because similar investigations are happening in other European countries, which prosecutors did not name.

Under Italian law, crimes committed abroad against Italian citizens can be tried in Rome.

Being placed under investigation does not mean guilt. It does not automatically lead to a trial either. If prosecutors decide the evidence is strong enough, they can ask for one.

Katz and Zamir did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Israel's position is that its naval blockade of Gaza is lawful.

The flotilla organisers say their goal was always to break that blockade and get humanitarian aid into Gaza.

So what happens next? Nobody knows yet whether Israel will cooperate with Italy's request. Nobody knows whether this ever reaches a trial. And nobody has said which other European countries are running the parallel investigations prosecutors mentioned at Eurojust.