Eleven Australians who were detained in Israel after their Gaza-bound flotilla was intercepted have been released, with two alleging mistreatment and abuse of other activists by Israel following their capture in international waters on Monday.
“We have just arrived, it is chaos here, we’ve got to try to get through security to get back with our comrades,” NSW Northern Rivers documentary filmmaker Juliet Lamont said outside Istanbul Airport on Thursday (overnight AEST).
Lamont, whose 25-year-old daughter Isla Lamont was also detained in Ketziot Prison, claimed many “comrades on the prison boat had broken bones” and that others were sexually assaulted.
Newcastle climate activist Zack Schofield told waiting media that the group of prisoners were “treated really poorly” and denied water for two days. He said many had not eaten for days.
Schofield is one of 87 flotilla participants who pledged a hunger strike if imprisoned. It remains unclear if all the prisoners were denied food, or if some refused to eat because they were on strike.
“I have friends that were shocked with tasers, stun guns for extended periods of time just on entry to prison, were beaten, but it is nothing compared to what happens to Palestinians in the occupied territories every single day,” he said.
Schofield also said that the Israel Defence Forces took an “Arab-looking man” into a container and tortured him “for a minute”.
“We heard his screams, just so they could provoke a response from us. Then they shocked some of us [with stun guns] when we expressed our dissent,” he alleged.
None of the Australians who were imprisoned have said they were harmed directly by Israeli forces. This masthead has approached Israel’s Foreign Ministry for comment.
Israeli Prison Service spokesperson Zivan Freidin told the Associated Press that the allegations were “false and entirely without factual basis”.
On Thursday evening, Israel’s ambassador to Australia told the ABC that the flotilla had been treated with “great sensitivity”.
“No one was hurt, the interception was done very smoothly,” Hillel Newman told the 7.30 program. He “refuted completely” any allegations of sexual humiliation, said claims of “violence is not true” and that “many accusations thrown out there are not true”.
Newman, who is three months into his posting, had been hauled before the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Thursday afternoon on Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s orders.
The government aimed to “reinforce” its displeasure over a video posted by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Thursday morning in which he is shown taunting flotilla activists.
“We condemn his actions and the degrading actions of Israeli authorities towards those detained,” Wong said in a statement on Thursday, calling the video “shocking and unacceptable”.
“Australia’s ambassador to Israel has made representations to Israel, reiterating our call for the release of the detained Australians and for Israel to ensure no ill treatment of any detainees and to act in line with international obligations. I also directed DFAT to call in Israel’s ambassador to Australia to reinforce this message.”
The video depicted, in part, Irish activist Catriona Graham – bound by a zip tie – being wrestled to the ground by several guards after yelling “Free Palestine”.
It triggered a global backlash and earned Ben-Gvir a rare rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “not in line with Israel’s values and norms”.
On Thursday evening, Newman repeatedly assured 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson that the “humiliation process” of Ben-Gvir has been “condemned from wall to wall” in Israel and “does not reflect the values of Israel or the activities that are usually done”.
On May 18, the IDF began intercepting the Global Sumud Flotilla’s 50 vessels in international waters. Schofield’s vessel, Marilyn, was among the first to be intercepted about 460 kilometres off the coast of Gaza.
All 428 flotilla participants have now been released. They were initially taken to Ashdod in southern Israel and transported to Ketziot Prison.
On Thursday, they were transferred by bus to Ramon Airport, where DFAT consular officials travelled to seek access to the Australian group before they departed.
On Thursday, Australian officials pressed Israel for the immediate release of Juliet and Isla Lamont, Schofield, Surya McEwen, Dr Bianca Webb-Pullman, Anny Mokotow, Neve Barwick O’Connor, Sam Woripa Watson, Violet Coco, Helen O’Sullivan and Gemma O’Toole.
The mission was the second this year in which activists from around the world attempted to break Israel’s 19-year land and sea blockade and deliver aid to Gaza.
Since October 2023, Australia has committed more than $130 million in humanitarian assistance to help civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. Food, water and medical supplies are delivered through partners including UNICEF and the Red Cross. About 2600 civilians seeking aid in the Gaza Strip were killed between May and October 2025.
The blockade has been in place since Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. The Gaza war began after the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023, during which 1200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
Since then, Israel’s offensive on the enclave has killed more than 72,000 people, say Palestinian health officials.
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