Australian flotilla activist says dozens hospitalised after being detained by Israel

By SBS News

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This story contains references to sexual assault. Gemma O’Toole is one of eleven Australians who were detained by Israel over their participation in the Global Sumud Flotilla’s latest attempt to deliver aid to Gaza. She said the treatment of detainees seen in video footage shared by Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was just “an infinitesimal amount” of how Israeli authorities treated them while they were in detention. Ben-Gvir’s video, which was released last week, shows him mocking detained flotilla activists, some of whom are being handled roughly by Israel Defense Forces personnel. The video also shows him behaving the same way towards dozens of other detainees who can be seen kneeling, their faces placed on the ground and their hands zip-tied behind their backs, while IDF personnel look on. O’Toole says she visited five other activists who have been hospitalised after being released by Israel, including a friend who had a “broken sternum and a collapsed lung