IN BRIEF
- More than 400 activists have been released from prison in southern Israel and flown to Türkiye.
- Their release follows international backlash over a video posted by Israel's police minister.
Australians detained by Israel while trying to deliver aid to Gaza have said they were subjected to physical, psychological, and sexual abuse before being released from prison and deported to Türkiye.
Eleven Australians were among some 400 people taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza before being intercepted by Israeli forces at gunpoint in international waters on Tuesday.
The activists were all deported from Israel on Thursday, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
After arriving in Istanbul, Australian flotilla participant Juliet Lamont said "at least 40 of our comrades on the prison boat had broken bones, there was about 15 sexual assaults".
Another Australian participant, Zack Schofield, said: "We were taken to prison and treated really poorly. Many of us haven't eaten for days. We were denied water for two days."
"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.
The Israel Prison Service has said prisoners were held "in accordance with the law, with full regard for their basic rights and under the supervision of professional and trained prison staff".
SBS News has contacted the Israeli government for comment.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said 11 Australians were met in Türkiye by Australian consular officials.
"We are pleased that the Australians involved in the global flotilla have now been released by Israel," the spokesperson told SBS News.
"No Australians required immediate medical attention, beyond the provision of basic first aid supplies. Access to medical treatment remains available.
"Along with other countries, Australia has raised our concerns with Israeli authorities about the treatment of detainees and delays in providing consular access in line with international obligations.
"We continue to urge Australians not to attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade as they will be putting the safety of themselves and others at risk."
Images posted by Türkiye's foreign ministry showed members of the group arriving in Istanbul, wearing grey tracksuits and keffiyehs.
It said 422 people who had been part of the flotilla were brought to Türkiye.
Israeli ambassador says handling of activists 'sensitive'
Earlier, Israel's ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman said the activists were "certainly safe", had access to consular officials and would be deported following due process.
"No one is in harm's way ... the dealing with them was very sensitive," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
The treatment of the activists by police officers under the direction of Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir drew international outcry and a rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ben-Gvir and at least one other minister in Netanyahu's government, transport chief Miri Regev, posted campaign-style videos of themselves lambasting the protesters — interpreted by some as attention-grabbing antics in the lead-up to Israeli parliamentary elections this year.
Speaking to ABC's RN Breakfast on Friday, Australian social servies minister Tanya Plibersek called Ben-Gvir's behaviour "disgraceful" and "shameful".
"Our Australian ambassador in Israel has made the position of the Australian government very clear that this behaviour is acceptable, completely unacceptable," she said.
Greens senator Nick McKim said Ben-Gvir's actions were "abhorrent" and called for a stronger response from the government.
"This demands the strongest possible response from our prime minister and our foreign minister. A far, far stronger response than they’ve delivered to date," he said.
Flotilla organisers say they aim to break Israel's blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance, something aid bodies say is still in short supply despite a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in place since October 2025 that includes guarantees of increased aid.
The flotilla departed from southern Türkiye this week before being intercepted on Wednesday.
Past flotillas — including one carrying Swedish activist Greta Thunberg — were also intercepted by Israel, with participants later deported.
In a statement, Israeli rights group Adalah said the estimated 430 activists had been released from prison in southern Israel and would be deported on Thursday via the Ramon airport near Eilat on the Red Sea.
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said his country was conducting special flights that would bring Turkish citizens as well as third-country participants to Türkiye.
Those on board the flotilla included citizens of Spain, South Korea and Ireland.
"We will continue to uphold the rights of our citizens and fulfil our humanitarian responsibility toward civilians in Gaza," Fidan said.
Spain's foreign minister said its diplomats in Israel had been informed that some 44 Spanish flotilla members would depart from Israel in the mid-afternoon.
Israeli minister taunts activists
Ben-Gvir's video showed officers forcing an activist to the ground after she chanted: "Free, free Palestine."
The video also shows dozens of detained activists kneeling in rows with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, in what appears to be an outdoor Israeli port facility.
In the background, soldiers armed with long guns can be seen patrolling the area from aboard a military vessel.
During Israel's two-year military assault in Gaza, launched after the October 2023 Hamas attacks, Israeli troops frequently lined up detained Palestinians on the ground, with their hands bound.
"Look at them now. See how they look now, not heroes and not anything," Ben-Gvir says in the video as he walks by the activists while carrying a large Israeli flag.
Posting her own video at Ashdod port, Regev, a member of Netanyahu's political party, said: "This is what should be done to supporters of terror who came to break the siege on Gaza."
Netanyahu, who leads the most right-wing government in Israel's history, said Ben-Gvir's conduct was "not in line with Israel's values and norms".
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said Ben-Gvir had "betrayed [the] dignity of his nation".
Ben-Gvir's political base includes some of Israel's most nationalist voters, a bloc that Netanyahu's Likud party has in the past tried to woo before national elections, the next of which is due by October 27.
The detention and taunting of the activists led France, Canada, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands to summon top Israeli diplomats in their countries.
Canada and Spain are among the countries that have imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir and Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, citing allegations that they incited violence against Palestinians.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that whatever one thought of the flotilla, "our compatriots who are participating in it must be treated with respect and released as quickly as possible".
SBS News has sought comment from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
— With additional reporting by Reuters, Associated Press and Australian Associated Press.
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