Australians on board Gaza-bound fleet arrive home after being detained by Israel
They were part of a group of 21 human rights activists on board the Freedom Flotilla vessel "Handala", which was intercepted by Israeli authorities in international waters on Sunday.
The pair touched down in Sydney this morning, greeted with cheers from supporters and family.
"All we were doing was trying to bring some food, some medicine, some prosthetics to children who are being starved to death by Israel," said Ms Safi, speaking to media in the airport terminal.
Ms Safi said the group "did not commit any crimes" and were taken against their will.
"We were on a hunger and water strike but the only time they offered food was once, and it was a tomato about this size," she said, holding up her hands to signal the size of a golf ball.
Ms Safi and Mr Martin were among about a dozen of those on the boat who were detained in Israel's Givon Prison since, along with two members of the European parliament, two journalists and multiple activists from different countries.
After several days in detention, the detainees were deported by Israel to Jordan before flying home to Australia.
The ship had been on course to try to break an Israeli naval blockade of the Gazan territory, where starvation is taking hold among the Palestinian population in what the World Health Organization has labelled a man-made crisis.
In a message on social media, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition declared Handala had been "attacked by the Israeli occupation in international waters".
"The 'Handala' was operating under international law, outside of Israeli jurisdiction, carrying parliamentarians, labour leaders, journalists, lawyers, and organisers," the group wrote in a later post.
Israel authorities disputed their claim, stating the seizure of the vessel had stopped it from "illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza".
An online tracking tool set up to plot the Handala's course showed its position as roughly 50 kilometres from the Egyptian coast and 100 kilometres west of Gaza when it was intercepted, which would place the ship well outside Israel's territorial waters.
This is not the first vessel to be intercepted by the Israeli authorities in international waters — the last boat sent by the Freedom Flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters on June 9 and towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
On board was prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
All 12 campaigners on board were sent back to their home countries.
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