Australian onboard flotilla says group was treated ‘really poorly’ after detention by Israel
All of the activists travelling aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla who were detained by Israeli authorities this week have been released from detention and are now in Istanbul.
A statement from the flotilla’s Australian delegation said 428 people, including 11 Australians, were free after spending about 80 hours in detention. The Australians were undergoing examinations at a hospital and will meet with lawyers in the coming days before their return to Australia.
Zack Schofield, one of the Australians onboard, said the group was taken to prison and “treated really poorly”:
Many of us haven’t eaten for days. We were denied water for two days. … But it is nothing compared to what happens to Palestinians in the occupied territories every single day. …
The message to our Australian government is that they need to cut ties with Israel. We need to cancel the alliance, stop sending them weapons parts, stop giving them political support.
Key events
Three charged with murder in Sydney after man dies from fall
Three people have been charged with murder after a man died after a fall in Sydney’s north-west last week.
NSW police said emergency services were called to a unit complex in Castle Hill on 17 May amid reports a man had been shouting from a balcony. On arrival, officers found the man, 44, suffering serious injuries in a garden outside the building.
The man was treated by paramedics at the scene but could not be revived.
After inquiries, police arrested two men, 38 and 30, and a woman, 34. All three have been charged with murder. They have all been refused bail and will appear in court today.
Luca Ittimani
Public transport use back to normal in NSW
New South Wales residents have stopped switching to public transport as the fuel price spike fades.
The state government had flagged a spike in public transport use amid high petrol and diesel costs. Data from Transport for NSW showed average daily trips surged in April.
There were about 2.1m trips a day throughout April 2025, but there were 2.3m a trips a day by mid-April 2026. Trips rose across trains, metro services, buses, light rail and ferries.
The 10% uplift is significant considering NSW did not cut its fares. In Victoria, where public transport is free until the end of May, public transport use was 20% higher in April.
However, while Victoria’s uplift was expected to endure, NSW’s has eased. Fuel costs fell over April, with unleaded in Sydney averaging 242 cents a litre at the month’s start but 182 cents at its end, according MotorMouth. It now costs 187.7 cents a litre.
Network use has also dropped in NSW, with daily trips falling to 2.2m last week, the same as in the equivalent week last year. While train trips are still slightly higher, average daily bus use in NSW is now lower than it was a year ago.
Plibersek says behaviour by Ben-Gvir ‘disgraceful’ as Greens call for stronger federal response
Tanya Plibersek, the minister for social services, said the behaviour by Itamar Ben-Gvir was “shameful” and “disgraceful”.
Plibersek, speaking to RN Breakfast, had this to say:
I think it was absolutely disgraceful behaviour and I’m very pleased to say that the foreign minister has said that in the strongest terms to the Israeli government. Our Australian ambassador in Israel has made the position of the Australian government very clear that this behaviour is acceptable, completely unacceptable.
Greens senator Nick McKim went a step further, telling RN:
That is abhorrent treatment of people by a senior figure in the Israeli government. People are being degraded. They’re having their human rights abused. It is effectively a form of torture. And the simple fact is that Israel is now a rogue state. They’re kidnapping people, including Australian citizens, from international waters on the high seas. It’s basically an act of piracy …
I mean, 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.
Josh Taylor
Father of Australian on flotilla detained by Israel rejects ambassador’s claim no one harmed
Also last night, Chris O’Connor, father of Neve O’Connor, one of the 11 Australians that was on the humanitarian flotilla to Gaza that was detained by Israel, rejected Israel’s ambassador to Australia’s claim that those detained in flotillas have not been harmed.
O’Connor told ABC’s 7.30 he had not spoken to Neve since before the flotilla was intercepted but alleged the first time his daughter was taken hostage “she was beaten”, subjected to psychological torture and hospitalised.
And as she said to me – the beatings were not bad compared to what happened to men of colour that she saw, and she heard the screams.
O’Connor said it was the Israeli Defence Force behind the alleged attacks. He said:
She said she was kneed in the face.
She was punched in the ribs.
She was dragged across the outdoor area.
The psychological torture she had was being in a stress position for many hours.
They were sprayed with water and were subject to hypothermic conditions overnight, because it was very cold in the containers.
O’Connor said the claims made by Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Dr Hillel Newman, that flotilla detainees were not mistreated had been countered by video testimony.
So no, I absolutely reject that.
Israel’s ambassador tells ABC ‘no one was harmed’ on flotilla
Josh Taylor
Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Dr Hillel Newman, claimed last night no one taken into custody from humanitarian aid flotillas headed to Gaza were harmed, after a far-right Israeli minister posted a video of himself abusing bound activists captured drew widespread condemnation.
The footage showed Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, waving an Israeli flag and mocking and taunting the detainees.
Newman said on ABC’s 7.30 Thursday night the actions of Ben-Gvir “have been condemned from wall-to-wall – from the leadership of the entire state of Israel” but as the election processes were beginning to get under way in Israel, he would not say whether Ben-Gvir would be fired.
While condemning the incident, Newman claimed those detained from the flotilla weren’t being mistreated. He said:
No one, out of the 400 plus people that were on the flotilla, no one was harmed.
The interception itself was done with great sensitivity by the state of Israel, by our security forces.
He rejected claims of violence and sexual abuse towards those who had been detained from flotillas in the past:
There are many accusations which are thrown out there … which are untrue.
Australian onboard flotilla says group was treated ‘really poorly’ after detention by Israel
All of the activists travelling aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla who were detained by Israeli authorities this week have been released from detention and are now in Istanbul.
A statement from the flotilla’s Australian delegation said 428 people, including 11 Australians, were free after spending about 80 hours in detention. The Australians were undergoing examinations at a hospital and will meet with lawyers in the coming days before their return to Australia.
Zack Schofield, one of the Australians onboard, said the group was taken to prison and “treated really poorly”:
Many of us haven’t eaten for days. We were denied water for two days. … But it is nothing compared to what happens to Palestinians in the occupied territories every single day. …
The message to our Australian government is that they need to cut ties with Israel. We need to cancel the alliance, stop sending them weapons parts, stop giving them political support.
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to Friday, we’ve made it. It’s Nick Visser here again to take you through the day’s news. Here’s what’s on deck:
The 428 activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, including 11 Australians, have now been released by Israeli authorities after they were detained earlier this week. One of those Aussies said they were in custody for about 80 hours and denied food and water, “but it is nothing compared to what happens to Palestinians”.
Public transport use is back to normal in NSW after the spike in fuel prices fades. At the height of the crisis, trips across trains, metro services, buses, light rail and ferries lifted by about 10%. In Victoria, where public transport is free, use was 20% higher.
We’ll have more soon. Stick with us.
