2 Australian activists from Gaza aid ship released from Israeli custody

ISTANBUL

Two Australian nationals, detained aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship by Israeli forces, were released on Wednesday, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

The Handala ship, carrying baby formula, food, and medicine, was seized by Israeli forces near the Gaza coast on Saturday night, with 21 unarmed civilians on board, including lawmakers, medics, and volunteers.

According to the coalition, Australian citizens Tan Safi and Robert Martin were released from the Givon Prison in Ramlah, central Israel, to the Australian Embassy in Jordan.

They are soon to return to their home countries after the procedures are held, the coalition said.

The Israeli Adalah legal center said late Tuesday that seven of 14 remaining activists were transferred to the airport to be deported in the upcoming hours. The center has not clarified the latest status of activists due to administrative delays that occurred at the airport.

Adalah stated that the detained activists continue the hunger strike on the fourth consecutive day, protesting Israel’s unlawful detention amid “harsh and degrading detention conditions.”

“The conditions they endure highlight the harsh realities faced within Israeli Prison Service custody, where many Palestinians suffer far more severe mistreatment and abuse,” the statement added.

The aid ship, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, set sail from Italy in an attempt to break a months-long Israeli siege, which has left Gaza’s 2.4 million population on the verge of famine.

In recent months, Israel has intercepted multiple Gaza-bound aid ships in international waters.

In June, Israeli forces seized the Madleen, detaining 12 international activists, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and French Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan. A month earlier, the MV Conscience was attacked by drones near Malta.

Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and, since March 2, has shut down all crossings, blocking the entry of aid convoys and ignoring international calls to reopen them.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 147 people have died of starvation since October 2023, including 88 children.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.