Australian officials are on the ground in Ketziot to support five Australians who have been detained in an Israeli prison after being arrested as part of the pro-Palestinian flotilla carrying aid to Gaza.
The Israeli navy stopped the Global Sumud Flotilla on Thursday, intercepting all but one of the vessels attempting to breach the blockade. On Friday, all 42 vessels were confirmed to have been stopped by Israeli forces.
The flotilla was carrying about 500 people, including parliamentarians, lawyers and activists, such as Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate campaigner.
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In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said they were providing consular assistance to five Australians detained in Israel and were seeking confirmation of the detention of another Australian.
Officials from the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv were on the ground in Ketziot – the location of a prison in the Negev desert where passengers on the flotilla were transferred – to support Australians in detention, the spokesperson said.
The Global Movement to Gaza group have raised concerns about the conditions in which the Australians are being held in detention, claiming they have been denied medication, food, water, sleep and access to bathroom facilities.
They also say the Australians have been subjected to aggression and forced to kneel for more than five hours while zip-tied, and were initially denied access to legal counsel.
Dfat did not respond to questions about the claims of the reported conditions. But a spokesperson said: “Australia calls on all parties to respect international law, to ensure the safety and humane treatment of those involved.
“The Australian government has made clear to Israel our expectation that detainees will receive humane treatment in line with international norms.”
The shutdowns for the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur, which ran from Wednesday night to Thursday night Israel time are understood to have made it hard for Australian officials to secure quick confirmation of any detained citizens.
“Australia calls on all parties to respect international law, to ensure the safety and humane treatment of those involved,” the statement read.
“We understand that people want to help deliver aid to those suffering in Gaza – we also want to see critical aid delivered.
“For some time, we have warned against attempts to breach the naval blockade and strongly advised Australians not to do so because of the risks to their safety.
“We repeat our call on Israel to enable the sustained, unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
The office of senator Mehreen Faruqi, the Greens deputy leader, said on Friday that among the Australians reportedly detained were Surya McEwen, Abubakir Rafiq, Hamish Paterson, Juliet Lamont and Bianca Webb-Pullman. Faruqi’s office said one other Australian, Cameron Tribe, was still at sea.
Australia’s health minister, Mark Butler, told Sunrise on Friday that the government had “put in a formal request to the Israeli authorities … to have clear information about how many Australians have been detained and obviously to have consular access to those Australians as well”.
He echoed comments that Australians had been warned not to join attempts to break the blockade “because of obvious safety risks”.
“For those who are detained, we’ll be providing consular assistance to them,” Butler said.
Israel’s foreign ministry, which had described the flotilla’s mission as a “provocation”, said all were “safe and in good health”.
“They are making their way safely to Israel, from where they will be deported to Europe,” it said on social media.
Guardian Australia has contacted the Israeli embassy in Canberra for comment.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said the Coalition expected anyone detained to receive consular assistance.
But she said those protesting against the Gaza war – whether passengers on the flotilla or people hoping to attend the planned Sydney Opera House march to mark two years since the start of the current wave of conflict – should instead focus on supporting the Gaza ceasefire plan brokered by Donald Trump.
“The only hope for peace in the region is the one brokered by the US,” Ley told reporters in Perth.
The flotilla, which was carrying symbolic humanitarian aid, aimed to breach the Gaza blockade and establish a maritime corridor into Gaza. It is the first time since Israel imposed a naval blockade on Gaza’s waters in 2009 that an unauthorised humanitarian mission has reached closer than 70 nautical miles from the territory.
Videos have emerged showing Israeli vessels intercepting flotilla vessels, including one from the Israeli foreign ministry that showed Thunberg sitting on a deck surrounded by soldiers on the flotilla’s lead vessel, the Alma.
In a video posted on Instagram shortly before the interception, Thunberg said: “My name is Greta Thunberg. I am onboard the ship Alma. We are about to be intercepted by Israel.”
Thunberg and other activists were arrested and taken into custody at the Israeli port of Ashdod.
While some of the vessels were boarded by Israeli soldiers, others sailed on towards the Gaza Strip before being intercepted.
Protests have been held worldwide in response to the interception of the aid flotilla. On Thursday evening, snap protests were held in both Sydney and Melbourne.
Around 400 people attended the protest in Sydney, with video footage showing some were restrained by police. There were no arrests.
– with AAP
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