{"id":390537,"date":"2026-04-13T22:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T22:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/390537\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T22:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T22:48:14","slug":"australians-sail-to-break-israels-blockade-of-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/390537\/","title":{"rendered":"Australians sail to break Israel\u2019s blockade of Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A law student, a musician and a frontline climate activist are among the 17 Australians sailing in the latest maritime convoy attempting to break Israel\u2019s naval siege of Gaza.<\/p>\n

The Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of more than 100 ships seeking to bring food, medical supplies and construction material to the Gaza Strip, is setting sail from numerous Mediterranean ports this week. More than 3,000 activists from 51 countries have joined the flotilla, dwarfing the convoy that sailed in August and September 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that we\u2019ve got the best chance yet of any flotilla that\u2019s ever attempted to reach Gazan shores because of our size and scale,\u201d said Zach Schofield, a climate activist and Flotilla participant at a press conference last week.<\/p>\n

Ethan Floyd, a Wiradjuri, Ngiyampaa and Wailwan man, is a student and community organiser. He decided to sail to Gaza after hearing crew members of last year\u2019s convoy speak at a rally for Palestine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the last flotilla was in the headlines, just seeing people taking concrete action was really exciting,\u201d he told Deepcut. \u201cThere\u2019s often a feeling in organising spaces that just speaking up isn\u2019t enough anymore. If you\u2019ve got the time and capacity and ability to put your body on the line and take a physical stand against Israel, that\u2019s something I think is really important to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also sailing on the flotilla is Jayden Kitchener-Waters, a Gomeroi and Ngiyampaa man who was fired<\/a> from the NSW Premier\u2019s Department after he displayed pro-Palestinian slogans<\/a> on his guitar ahead of a scheduled performance at a departmental event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve all watched this genocide from the comfort of our phones. We\u2019ve all shared this feeling of hopelessness,\u201d Kitchener-Waters said<\/a> on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important we harness these feelings so we can use them to continue pressuring our governments, decision-makers and \u2018leaders\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The last Australian cohort of Sumud activists returned<\/a> with allegations of torture, abuse and sexual assault at the hands of Israeli soldiers and prison guards. After being intercepted in international waters by the Israeli navy in September, they were held for more than a week in Ktzi\u2019ot \u2013 an Israeli prison in the Negev desert notorious for its human rights abuses. They also claimed that Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel\u2019s far-right national security minister, told them in front of TV cameras, \u2018Shut the fuck up or we\u2019ll gas you\u2019.<\/p>\n

Israeli human rights bodies have exhaustively detailed<\/a> cases of Palestinian prisoners in Ktzi\u2019ot dying of starvation, internal injuries, and the denial of medical treatment for easily treatable conditions, as well as Israeli prison guards routinely raping and sexually assaulting Palestinians.<\/p>\n

Floyd says the new group of Sumud activists have made a conscious choice not to be deterred by the \u201chorror stories\u201d of Ktzi\u2019ot.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time a flotilla makes it in sight of Gaza and is intercepted by the Israelis, the political goal is always to deter future participants \u2013 to make people think that it\u2019s far too dangerous to do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want us to come back to Australia and tell this tale of horror so people don\u2019t do it again. But if we are to meaningfully commit ourselves to the liberation of Palestinians, the end of the genocide and the end of the apartheid system, we cannot let ourselves be frightened or deterred by these stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur experience will be awful, but it will be the five-star version of what Palestinians face every day in those prisons. Because we carry certain privileges \u2013 western passports, citizenship of a country that\u2019s an ally of Israel \u2013 we can use those privileges for the benefit of people who don\u2019t have them.\u201d<\/p>\n

An additional risk factor for this flotilla is that Australia\u2019s consular services in Israel have been largely suspended due to the ongoing war with Iran. Sumud activists say the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has warned them they should not expect Australian consular officials to visit them in person while they are held in Ktzi\u2019ot.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir sort of wry advice to us was that we should still be able to get through to the Embassy via the phone lines,\u201d Floyd told Deepcut.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe asked them, \u2018Are you seriously telling us that the Israelis are going to let us use a phone?\u2019 And one of the DFAT officials leaned back in their chair and said, \u2018Well, I\u2019m not saying that, but try if you can\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amnesty International Australia has urged the government to \u201cdo everything in its power to ensure the safety of the 17 Australians on board\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Australian government, together with other states and Israeli authorities, must ensure safe passage and protection for these peaceful activists and human rights defenders,\u201d said<\/a> Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International Australia\u2019s spokesperson for the occupied Palestinian territories. \u201cThere must be no repeat of Israel\u2019s unlawful interceptions, arbitrary detentions, and inhumane treatment seen in 2025, nor the abuse inflicted on activists last October.\u201d<\/p>\n

In lieu of consular support, Floyd believes the next best way to ensure the safety of Sumud activists is by the Australian public \u201cheaping pressure\u201d on the government to advocate on their behalf.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people are ringing DFAT, their local MPs, the foreign minister\u2019s office, that creates pressure,\u201d he says. \u201cNot only on our behalf, but on behalf of the people of Gaza who are still under siege.\u201d<\/p>\n

Check out our new podcast, Deepthink. We speak with Senator David Shoebridge on the Iran war, the Australia-US alliance and the surging UK Greens. Listen on Spotify<\/a>, Apple<\/a>, Deezer<\/a> or watch on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n