A group of Australians who were detained in an Israeli prison after being arrested as part of the pro-Palestinian flotilla carrying aid to Gaza have been deported to Jordan.
Confirmation that the seven Australian citizens had been released by Israeli authorities was received on Tuesday night, following Australian government representations to authorities on the ground.
The government raised the welfare and treatment of Australians who were detained with Israel in Tel Aviv and in Canberra.
The Israeli navy stopped the Global Sumud Flotilla last week, 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.
A spokesperson for the foreign minister, Penny Wong, welcomed the news.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade continues to provide consular assistance to Australians who were detained in Israel,” they said.
“We are pleased they have been released from detention.”
Officials from the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv had been 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 Global Movement to Gaza group raised concerns about the conditions in which the Australians were being held in detention, claiming they had been denied medication, food, water, sleep and access to bathroom facilities.
Australian activists detained by Israel had told officials of “degrading and humiliating treatment” they claimed to have received after being arrested onboard. Surya McEwen, one participant, said he had been slapped and had his arm dislocated and head slammed into the ground.
Another, Juliet Lamont, said she was “gravely” concerned she was at risk of stroke after her daily medication was confiscated by Israeli security forces. She said her request for more medication was not being met while she was being held in a prison environment she described as “dystopian”.
On Monday, Israel deported 171 of the activists they detained on the flotilla but the status of the Australians was unclear.
The Israeli foreign ministry said the deportees were citizens of Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway, the UK, Serbia, and the United States,
McEwen told Australian officials he had been held in a cage with 80 other people without food or water while the Israeli national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, yelled abuse at them, while Lamont told officials that when she arrived at Ketziot prison she was taken to a room with other women, where Ben-Gvir berated them and called them “terrorists”.