Australians detained while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza have described brutal treatment, allegedly at the hands of Israeli forces, as the group returned to home soil.
Eleven Australians who were among 400 flotilla participants detained in international waters have begun returning home after they were imprisoned and deported from Israel.
Still clad in the prison tracksuits they were allegedly beaten in, seven of the Australian cohort arrived at Sydney Airport on Monday to a hero's welcome, with supporters cheering and chanting.
After hugging loved ones, the activists spoke to reporters at the airport, describing harrowing experiences while in custody in Israel.
"I was dragged into a darkened container on a prison boat, I was sexually assaulted, I was beaten - and that was just the beginning of four days of absolute hell," flotilla member Juliet Lamont said.
