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Australian activists return after Gaza flotilla incident, allege ...
By Stefica Bikesh and Cordelia HsuSYDNEY, May 25 (Reuters) - Australian activists detained by Israel while on a flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza have returned home, with organisers alleging abuse, sexual assault, and beatings, that left some detainees in hospital.Israel's prison service has denied the allegations, which Reuters could not independently verify.Eleven Australians were among the 430 volunteers on 50 boats intercepted in international waters last week by Israeli forces aiming to stop the flotilla delivering aid supplies to the Gaza Strip. The flotilla included people from 40 countries.One activist reached Melbourne on Sunday evening, while others arrived in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on Monday.Juliet Lamont, an Australian activist and documentary filmmaker, told Reuters on Monday she was dragged, sexually assaulted and beaten when she was detained."That was just the beginning of four days of absolute hell. I've looked into the eyes of the most soulless people in the universe, and nothing came back. These people need to be stopped," Lamont said.Another Australian activist, Sam Woripa Watson, said he sustained a fractured rib along with bruises and cuts across his body. Watson also said he had witnessed activists being tasered and shot with rubber bullets, with stun grenades thrown at them.Global Sumud Flotilla, the organisers of the aid shipment, said it had documented at least 15 cases of sexual abuse, with the worst occurring on one Israeli landing craft which had been converted into a makeshift prison with barbed wire and shipping containers.The statement was released after the Israeli prison service's blanket denial of mistreatment, rape and sexual assault allegations.The allegations of mistreatment have increased international pressure on Israel, following a video posted by far-right Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in which he taunted activists restrained on the ground, sparking widespread condemnation.Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the footage as "shocking and unacceptable." Australia imposed a travel ban and financial sanctions on Ben-Gvir last year for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
Gaza flotilla activists return to Australia, describing abuse
NewsFeedAustralian activists from the Gaza-bound aid flotilla have arrived back in Sydney, reuniting with loved ones as they describe beatings, sexual assault and torture at the hands of Israeli forces who intercepted their boats in international waters.Published On 25 May 2026
Gaza flotilla activists return to Sydney alleging Israeli abuse in ...
Australian activists detained by Israel while aboard a flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza return to Sydney, with organisers alleging abuse, sexual assault and beatings, some of which reportedly left detainees hospitalised. Juliet Lamont, a documentary filmmaker, alleges she was dragged, sexually assaulted and beaten when she was detained. An Israeli prison service spokesperson said in a statement: 'The allegations raised are false and entirely without factual basis' Australians allege they were abused after IDF intercepted Gaza flotilla and Itamar Ben-Gvir taunted them
Gaza aid flotilla activists arrive in Australia after deportation ...
May 25, 2026 — 3:06pmPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has addressed public calls for a meeting from Australian activists who say they were abused and mistreated while in Israeli custody after their Gaza-bound flotilla was intercepted in international waters last week.Melbourne student Gemma O’Toole, 23, and climate activist Violet Coco, 35, have both demanded an audience with Albanese following their release from Ketziot Prison. Coco, who said she was beaten and sexually assaulted in detention, said she would tell Albanese “the shame of Israel”. O’Toole alleged that she and about 480 activists were physically, mentally and, in some cases, sexually abused after they were intercepted by the IDF on May 18 while sailing with the Global Sumud Flotilla towards Gaza intending to deliver aid.“Me, personally, I was strip-searched, repeatedly pushed in the chest with a man grabbing my boobs, asking me if I was a girl or a boy,” O’Toole said in the video.She added that they were unable to sleep as guards would wake them every 30 minutes to be moved rooms and recounted.Asked, hours after most of the 11 Australian flotilla participants touched down on home soil, about the request for a meeting Albanese said: “I’m not going to respond without any notice for someone I don’t know, I don’t know their circumstances.”A spokesperson for DFAT said the government was “deeply alarmed” by the allegations of mistreatment, and that Australia has “made representations to Israel about these allegations and conveyed our expectation that they be urgently investigated.”Albanese said the government had made its position “very clear” regarding the behaviour of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who shared a video on Thursday in which he was shown taunting flotilla activists.It triggered a global backlash and earned Ben-Gvir a rare rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the video “shocking and unacceptable” and summoned Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to “reinforce” its displeasure.Albanese said on Monday that the way people “were treated isn’t consistent with how we want Australians … how we want anyone treated”.Australian activists, including Juliet Lamont (pictured in Sydney on Monday), have alleged they experienced abuse and mistreatment while in Israeli custody last week.Kate GeraghtySeven of the 11 flotilla participants, including Surya McEwen (pictured h...
