Newcastle mother Joanne Jaworowski was informed by this masthead this morning that consular officials from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be visiting her son, who is detained in Israel, for a welfare check today.
In the three days since Zack Schofield and 10 other Australian activists were intercepted by Israel’s Defence Forces in international waters near the Greek island of Crete, family members, lawyers and representatives for the Global Sumud Flotilla’s Australian delegation allege communications with DFAT have been limited, and the health of the 11 Australians in Ketziot Prison is not known.
“My husband and I are really, really worried about [Schofield’s] condition and especially his maltreatment by the Israelis,” says Jaworowski. “But we’re also incredibly proud of his moral clarity.”
Compounding Jaworowski’s distress is that Schofield is one of 87 flotilla participants who vowed to go on hunger strike in the event of their detention.
She says she has called DFAT “seven or eight” times, and they have returned her call “once or twice”, but the majority of their communications has been DFAT asking Jaworowski for updates. This masthead has contacted DFAT for comment.
“We know that there are some serious injuries that have been sustained by some of the participants, but we don’t know if any Australians were affected,” says lawyer Bernadette Zaydan, who is representing most Australian flotilla participants.
“We know some were hospitalised, we know some have broken ribs. DFAT has not provided us with any information … In fact, I’ve provided DFAT with the legal report from the lawyers who have been visiting the participants.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on Thursday that Israel’s ambassador to Australia will be hauled before DFAT to reinforce the government’s displeasure with a “shocking and unacceptable” video of Israel’s national security minister taunting detained flotilla activists. Hillel Newman, who started his role in February, is expected to meet with DFAT on Thursday afternoon.
The video, shared by Itamar Ben-Gvir overnight, was criticised by Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has triggered global backlash. It depicts, in part, Irish activist Catriona Graham – bound by a zip tie – being wrestled to the ground by multiple guards after yelling “Free Palestine”. Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly, is one of 12 Irish flotilla participants detained in Israel.
“Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza,” said Netanyahu in a statement.
“However, the way that Minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms. I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs as soon as possible.”
Australian flotilla spokespeople confirmed that none of the group were visible in Ben-Gvir’s video. The group has repeatedly denied it is linked with Hamas. Here’s what we do know about the 11 Australian flotilla participants who are detained in Israel.
Zack Schofield
Schofield, a 26-year-old climate activist, first attempted to sail to Gaza in April. His vessel was intercepted about 650 nautical miles from Gaza, and he was returned to Cyprus shortly after.
The Rising Tide organiser then re-attempted to sail to Gaza from Marmaris in mid-May, but his vessel, Marilyn, was among the first to be intercepted about 250 nautical miles from Gaza on May 18.
Before he left Sydney in April, this masthead asked Schofield why he was sailing with the flotilla, although the participants and the aid they were transporting – including prosthetic limbs for children – were unlikely to reach their intended destination. Israel has intercepted all Gaza-bound flotillas since 2010, but he said the movement is not futile.
“Every time Israel is forced to capture and abuse humanitarian aid workers to prevent food from getting to Gaza’s shores, people see once again the brutality that state is willing to employ just to make Palestinians starve,” said Schofield.
Surya McEwen
NSW Northern Rivers support worker and counsellor Surya McEwen has attempted to sail to Gaza four times, including with the Global Sumud Flotilla twice this year. In October, he was among seven Australian activists detained in Ketziot Prison in the Negev Desert, where his mother, Jacinta McEwen, said he returned with a dislocated shoulder, cracked ribs and a concussion from being “bashed” in the head.
“I’m really worried for his safety and his wellbeing because he’s been before … and because he’s a brown-skinned person, I’m afraid they’re going to pick on him more,” Jacinta told this masthead on Thursday.
“They already hurt him quite badly last time … and then a couple of weeks ago when they arrested them or kidnapped them near Greece, they shoved his head against a steel container and they kicked him and hurt him then.”
Jacinta also alleged she has been updating DFAT more than DFAT has been updating her.
Juliet Lamont and Isla Lamont
Also from the Northern Rivers is documentary filmmaker Juliet Lamont, 55, and her 25-year-old daughter Isla Lamont.
Juliet first attempted to sail to Gaza in October, and alleged she was subjected to violence, threats and maltreatment and deprived of sleep, medication and drinkable water during her Ketziot Prison detention.
When this masthead spoke with her before she departed Italy in April, she said she was “terrified” to sail again but “what happened to me in prison just pales [in comparison] to what happens to innocent Palestinians every day.”
“I’m prepared to suffer and sacrifice a bit of my own physical comfort to hopefully put pressure on governments to end the genocide and stop arming Israel,” she said.
Her 27-year-old daughter, Luca Lamont, has been providing logistical support for the movement from Europe.
Dr Bianca Webb-Pullman
A general practitioner from New Zealand, Melbourne-based Bianca Webb-Pullman was also detained in Israel in October, and intercepted in April.
“Serial kidnappers have done it again – abducted my daughter in international waters while she was legally delivering humanitarian aid,” Julie Pullman Webb said when her daughter was intercepted on May 18.
“Yet our pathetic prime minister cannot even rustle up a condemnation, let alone demand accountability. This is the second time in a month he has had the opportunity to show principled leadership and support for his citizens – and the second time he has failed.”
Anny Mokotow
Raised by Polish Holocaust survivors, the Melbourne grandmother Anny Mokotow identifies as a “Jewish anti-Zionist”.
“All hope is that we will penetrate the siege, and deliver our aid and messages of hope,” she said in an Instagram message hours before interception.
Neve Barwick O’Connor
Student Neve Barwick O’Connor was intercepted at gunpoint in April, but vowed to sail again.
“Shame and disgust do not begin to cover how I feel about Australia’s response,” she wrote for this masthead before her interception on May 18. “I am a 26-year-old from Melbourne. Why is the PM doing less than me?”
Read the full story here.
Sam Woripa Watson
As he was being intercepted on May 18, First Nations community activist and filmmaker Sam Woripa Watson shared a message to Instagram urging those watching to demand action from the Australian government. He was one of the last flotilla participants to be intercepted in April.
Violet Coco, Helen O’Sullivan and Gemma O’Toole
Climate activist and community organiser Violet Coco was also intercepted in April, and before sailing again in mid-May, claimed the mission was already a success.
“Knowing that our little boat of ordinary people with cupboards full of chickpeas managed to cost Israel hundreds of thousands of dollars while they chased us through the Mediterranean is just … a really good feeling,” she said on Instagram.
She was sailing with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition alongside 65-year-old Gold Coast grandmother of eight and social work field educator Helen O’Sullivan, and 23-year-old Melbourne student Gemma O’Toole.
How did we get here?
This is the second time this year that activists from around the world have attempted to break Israel’s 19-year land and sea blockade and deliver aid to Gaza.
In April, 15 Australians – including the 11 currently in Ketziot Prison – were intercepted in international waters by the IDF. They were released in Crete.
In mid-May, more than 50 vessels departed Marmaris, Turkey, to continue the mission. Australians Rob Volker, Madeleine Habib, Cameron Tribe did not sail again, nor did 22-year-old Ethan Floyd, who suffered a concussion and required medical attention in Australia.
Wong asked DFAT officials to meet with a group of participants, including Floyd and Schofield, ahead of their departure for Europe in April. In the briefing, DFAT strongly encouraged them not to follow through with the mission.
“We understand people want to respond to the humanitarian situation in Gaza but we continue to urge Australians not to join others seeking to break the Israeli naval blockade as they will be putting themselves and others at risk of injury, death, arrest or deportation,” a spokesperson for DFAT told this masthead in multiple statements.
“We encourage those wishing to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza to do so through established channels.”
Since October 2023, Australia has committed more than $130 million in humanitarian assistance to help civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. Food, water and medical supplies are delivered through partners including UNICEF and the Red Cross. About 2600 civilians seeking aid in the Gaza Strip were killed between May and October 2025.
The blockade has been in place since Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. The Gaza war started after Hamas-led fighters killed 1200 people and took 251 hostages in the October 7, 2023 attacks, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel’s offensive on the enclave has killed more than 72,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials.
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Bronte Gossling is a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAtoday and Brisbane Times.Connect via email.
Nick Newling is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
