In brief
- The Australians intercepted by the IDF have been taken to Israel, according to reports.
- Their families are “stressed and anxious” as they await news of their loved ones.
Eleven Australian citizens aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces have reportedly been transported to the city of Ashdod in Israel. As their families anxiously await updates, the Australians are anticipated to be transferred to a detention facility.
The Australian government announced on Monday that it is urgently seeking details about the status and location of these activists, who are believed to be detained by Israeli authorities following the interception of their flotilla.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, aiming to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, embarked on its third attempt last Thursday from southern Türkiye. Previous efforts were thwarted by Israeli forces in international waters.
The flotilla organizers have identified the Australian participants as Anny Mokotow, Bianca Webb-Pullman, Neve O’Connor, Violet Coco, Gemma O’Toole, Sam Woripa Watson, Zack Schofield, Helen O’Sullivan, Juliet Lamont, Isla Lamont, and Surya McEwen.
According to a spokesperson for the flotilla, communication with the activists has been lost since their interception. This lack of contact has left families in the dark regarding their loved ones’ circumstances.
“The families are extremely stressed and anxious,” the spokesperson told SBS News. “They are urging the government to take more decisive action.”
“Before being kidnapped, many of the Australian participants, including Neve O’Connor, Gemma O’Toole and Zack Schofield, indicated they intended to go on hunger strike if they were detained again by Israel. We have not had any contact with them to confirm whether they are on hunger strike. There are grave concerns for their safety,” the media team added.
Jacinta McEwen, the mother of Surya McEwen, said she was “on high alert and sitting by the phone”.
“I hate this part where we don’t know where they are being taken, and where they are usually beaten up and shoved in shipping containers on the prison boat, and then doused with sea water so they’re freezing … and they pick on the ones that look like Surya.
“Surya believed that silence in the face of genocide is complicity. He has always stood up for what is right — now I need the world to stand up for him and his comrades,” she added.
A United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which does not speak on behalf of the UN as a whole, concluded in September that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly denied committing genocide in Gaza.
Jessica Mamone, an academic specialising in Islam-West relations and a spokesperson for the McEwen family, said there were reports “that our loved ones from the flotilla, including Australians, have arrived at Ashdod and will be transferred to Ketziot prison”.
The group shared photos of Israeli soldiers on a vessel bearing symbols of the Global Sumud Flotilla approaching port.
Around 40 people, including loved ones of the activists, held a dawn vigil outside Kirribilli House in Sydney on Wednesday, met with a large police presence.
They called on the Australian government to demand the safe release of the Australians and publicly condemn the abductions.
“Israel cannot continue to behave with impunity while it violates international law and commits acts of violence against Australian citizens,” activist Ethan Floyd said.
Floyd was one of six Australian activists who were detained at sea by the Israeli military in late April, while participating in an earlier mission by the flotilla to deliver aid to Gaza. Floyd, Schofield, O’Connor, McEwen and Webb-Pullman were also part of that cohort.
The flotilla participants were released on Crete in early May after being intercepted off the coast of the Greek island by members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
At the time, flotilla organisers said three Australians — Floyd, Schofield and O’Connor — had been taken to hospital for injuries after being released, and said they were subjected to violence and mistreated while on board the Israeli vessel.
Seven Australians were also detained by the IDF during an earlier Sumud flotilla in October last year.
“We are calling on the Australian government to expel the Israeli ambassador, end the two-way arms trade with Israel, and impose real political and economic sanctions on this rogue state,” Floyd said on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Wednesday the Australian government was engaging with Israeli authorities on the welfare of the detained Australians involved in the flotilla and making preparations to visit them at the earliest opportunity.
“We want to see all detained Australians released as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Australian officials continue to make clear to Israel our expectation that any detainees receive humane treatment in line with international norms.”
On Tuesday, 10 countries issued a joint statement strongly condemning Israel’s repeated attacks on the flotilla and the country’s “blatant violations of international law”.
The statement was released by Pakistan’s foreign ministry on X and cosigned by the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia, Spain, Colombia, Libya, the Maldives, and Jordan. It described the flotilla as a “peaceful civilian humanitarian initiative”, expressed serious concern for the safety of its civilian participants, and called for their immediate release.
Reports Israeli forces fired shots
In the latest interception, Israeli forces opened fire on at least two vessels that were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, according to video footage and flotilla organisers. Israel said no live ammunition was used and there were no casualties.
The flotilla was making a renewed attempt to deliver aid to Gaza after earlier missions were intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in international waters.
Video from the flotilla’s livestream showed soldiers firing shots at two of the boats. The type of ammunition fired was not clear
“At no point was live ammunition fired,” the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Following multiple warnings, non-lethal means were employed toward the vessels — not toward protesters — as a warning. No protesters were injured during these events,” it added.
The Global Sumud Flotilla later said that all 50 boats in the flotilla had been intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean, with 428 participants from more than 40 countries detained, including 78 Turks.
Israel’s foreign ministry said all 430 activists had been transferred to Israeli vessels and were en route to Israel. It said the activists would be allowed to meet their consular representatives.
It was not immediately clear why Israel and the flotilla offered differing numbers for those on board.
The foreign ministry had said on X on Monday that it “will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza”.
SBS News has contacted the IDF for comment.
The United States treasury said on Tuesday it was imposing sanctions against four people associated with what it described as the “pro-Hamas” flotilla.
Pro-Palestinian activists say Israel and the US wrongly conflate their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for Hamas militants.
Palestinians and international aid bodies say supplies reaching Gaza are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire agreed in October that included guarantees of increased aid.
Most of Gaza’s more than two million people have been displaced, many now living in bombed-out homes and makeshift tents pitched on open ground, roadsides, or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its residents.
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