Australian Gaza aid flotilla activists allege abuse after Israeli abduction 

Australian activists detained by Israel while on a flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza have returned home, and organisers allege abuse, sexual assaults and beatings that put some detainees in hospital.

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 the Reuters news agency on Monday that 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 witnessed activists being Tasered and shot with rubber bullets and said stun grenades were thrown at them.

Eleven Australians were among the 430 volunteers on 50 boats intercepted in international waters last week by Israeli forces aiming to stop the flotilla from delivering aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. The flotilla included people from 40 countries.

Organisers of the aid flotilla said the activists, who were kidnapped from international waters, faced abuse while in Israeli detention, including at least 15 reporting incidents of sexual assault or rape.

Meanwhile, a Malaysian regional official said his country was prepared to launch legal proceedings against Israel over the alleged mistreatment of Malaysian activists once lawyers finalise the collection of information and supporting evidence, local media reported on Monday.

“We will not remain silent. We will not stop. While the legal team gathers all documentation on violations of international law, they [the flotilla participants] were kidnapped more than once. They were tortured,” Amirudin Shari, the chief minister of the Malaysian state of Selangor, said at a ceremony welcoming back flotilla activists at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

“We will bring this to the international court. We will continue diplomatic pressure, and we will also travel across Malaysia,” he said.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir last week posted a video showing himself gloating as activists from the flotilla knelt on the ground, blindfolded and with their hands bound, at the port of Ashdod.

The footage caused global outrage with France announcing it was barring Ben-Gvir from entering the country.

On Sunday, the foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkiye condemned what they called “appalling, degrading and unacceptable” actions by Ben-Gvir against the activists.

In a joint statement, they said Ben-Gvir’s “deliberate public humiliation” of detainees violated Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.