Zack Schofield's parents have issued an impassioned plea for the safe return of their son, detained and believed to be bound for Israel in the custody of that country's naval forces.
The prominent Hunter activist sailing with the Global Sumud Flotilla, attempting to break Israel's blockade of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid to the region, fell out of contact on Monday as footage emerged of Israeli military intercepting the fleet for the second time in almost as many weeks.
Mr Schofield was arrested and taken into custody with all remaining activists, hundreds of kilometres from Gaza in the Eastern Mediterranean.
It was the second time Mr Schofield had been detained, having previously been held for two days on a military vessel with six other Australians before being released in Greece earlier this month.
He rejoined the protester fleet almost immediately, as dozens of vessels in its number continued to sail for Gaza.
The group behind the voyage has demanded the release of around 430 of its activists who joined the fleet from around the country, including 11 Australians, and claimed the flotilla was stopped in defiance of international law.
The Hunter spokeswoman for the Australians on board, Alexa Stuart has described the detention of its members as kidnapping.
"I'm deeply frightened for my son's safety, and for the safety of the 10 Australians who are with him," Mr Schofield's mother, Joanne Jaworowski, told the assembled vigil gathered opposite federal MP Sharon Claydon's Hunter Street office on Wednesday evening, May 20.
"I am afraid that Israel is going to feel ever more free to abuse my son and all of the Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian aid volunteers who they are holding hostage and illegally taking to Israel."
Ms Jaworowski, with Mr Schofield's father, demanded the Australian government intervene to ensure the activists' safe return.
"I want to know that you are moving heaven and earth to protect my son and the other Australians," she said, reading from a letter she had sent to the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.
"I want you to acknowledge that Zack and the other Global Sumud Flotilla volunteers would not be doing this if our government, and all the signatories to the Geneva Convention, had done the hard work to stop the genocide in Gaza."
"Save my son and the others immediately."
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said officials were "engaging with Israeli authorities on the welfare of detained Australians" and were "making preparations" to visit them after the country's Foreign Ministry posted on social media that hundreds of detained activists with the flotilla were being taken to Israel to meet with consular representatives.
The statement followed video footage released by the protesters appearing to show Israeli military firing on the civilian vessels, a claim that the government denies.
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Oren Marmorstein posted on social media overnight that "at no point was live ammunition fired" in the interception, and described the projectiles as "non-lethal means" that were shot in warning.
At the edge of the Hunter Street vigil where demonstrators unfurled a giant banner and held signs to passing traffic declaring their support for the activists' cause, Raymond Terrace mother Laura Taylor said she was disappointed more did not attend.
"Once upon a time, if something went wrong, we all got together and we all protested," she said. "We should be coming together. Someone in Palestine loves their kids just as much as I love mine, but chances are their kids could be dead. Why isn't that enough to get Novocastrians out?"
The department reiterated its warning to Australians not to travel to the Middle East on Wednesday, and urged Australians to support humanitarian initiatives in Gaza through official channels.
"Before their departure, the Foreign Minister arranged for participants to receive a full DFAT briefing on the latest travel advice and available consular services. DFAT strongly encouraged them not to participate, given the risks to their safety and that of others," the department's spokesperson said.
