Australians trying to deliver aid to Gaza by boat intercepted by Israeli navy
Two Australians were on board the boat, Handala, when it was intercepted by the Israeli navy. Credit: Supplied
SBS News has not been able to independently verify the vessel's location at the interception point. The scene was livestreamed by the group on social media and appears to show the activists holding up their hands as soldiers board the vessel before the video feed is cut.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed the two Australians were on the vessel.
"DFAT is aware two Australians were on board the Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessel Handala, along with 19 others," they said.
"Our officials in Tel Aviv are liaising with authorities, and consular officers stand ready to offer assistance to affected Australians."
Robert Martin is one of the two Australians who were on board the Handala as it sailed towards Gaza. Source: Getty / Anadolu The refurbished fishing boat had departed from Malmö, Sweden, aiming to breach the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza and deliver aid supplies such as baby formula, diapers, food, and medicine to Palestinians in the besieged territory. The Israeli foreign ministry said its navy had stopped the ship from "illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza". "The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe," a post on X read. "Unauthorised attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts." In a social media post prior to the boat being intercepted, Martin said the group's aim was to deliver aid to Palestinians. "We are a non-violent movement, we are delivering aid," he said. "To the world, if something happens, we were trying to shine a light on what's happening in Palestine and in particular, Gaza." In a more deadly episode in 2010, nine activists aboard a flotilla the Mavi Marmara were reportedly shot by Israeli soldiers. Five of them died.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
20 minutes ago
- ABC News
Critics wary of Israel's pause in fighting to allow food into Gaza
Israel has announced a daily pause in the fighting in three areas of Gaza to allow more food to get into the strip. The move has been welcomed by aid groups and Palestinians. Israel is also allowing limited airdrops in Gaza. But critics ask if it will make any real difference to the more than 2 million people suffering from severe shortages of food.
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Aid trucks enter Gaza as Netanyahu denies starvation policy
100+ trucks enter the Gaza Strip as Israel pauses military operations Federal MPs to debate removal of emissions targets Mavi Garcia becomes oldest Tour de France Femmes stage winner A convoy of some 100 aid trucks have entered the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom border crossing, after Israel announced it would be halting its military operations for 10 hours a day. Jordan and the UAE have conducted airdrops into Gaza in the last 24 hours, after Israel announced a series of aid measures in response to growing international condemnation that it is responsible for starvation in Gaza. The World Health Organization says malnutrition rates are on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, with 74 malnutrition-related deaths this year in Gaza - 65 occurred in July]. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist there is no starvation in Gaza, instead blaming the UN and aid groups for failing to deliver aid - even as he conceded some of the restrictions imposed by Israel will be lifted to allow in a minimum amount of aid. "We've just announced that formally. Here are safe corridors . And the UN has no excuses left. No excuses left, stop lying. Stop finding excuses, do what you have to do, and stop accusing Israel deliberately of this egregious falsehood. There is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation Gaza." Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce says he looks forward to the debate over emission reduction targets that will be triggered when he introduces his private member's bill today that proposes repealing Australia's emission reduction targets. The newly reformed Coalition has yet to determine its position on net zero targets, with differing views held by MPs. Over the weekend, the W-A Liberal Party supported a motion to abandon a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, increasing the pressure on federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley to drop the policy. Mr Joyce says in his view, emission reduction targets is not the way to go. "We are de-industrialising. We are making it weaker. We are making ourselves more vulnerable. And on the way to doing that - we are just absolutely devastating regional communities. They are just besides themselves. It is really important that people in urban areas understand what is happening in regional areas. You have got to have some empathy. And more to the point. It doesn't work. You can't run a nation on intermittent power.' A new report has found one in five Australian households are struggling to pay their energy bills, with renters more heavily affected. The report by Energy Consumers Australia shows many of the hardest-hit households are not accessing, or aware of, available retailer or government assistance programs aimed at helping to ease energy costs. About a third of households reporting hardship had not contacted their retailer about difficulty paying bills - and almost half said they had not applied for government support. The recommendations for change include the introduction of stronger minimum energy performance standards for rental properties. Independent MP Zali Steggall says the issue of misinformation in political advertising must be dealt with once and for all. She has urged the federal government to back her private member's bill* - or reintroduce its own lapsed legislation on the issue. Ms Stegall's bill would ban material in political advertising that is misleading or deceptive. It would also allow the Australian Electoral Commission to receive complaints and give it enforcement powers to remove content. Ms Stegall says the growing risks posed by AI content and deepfakes underlines the urgent need to act. "We protect consumers against being scammed out of their money when it comes to misleading and deceptive advertising. We must do the same when it comes to politics. We cannot have a situation where elections are hijacked by third party campaigners and bad faith actors that can put any level of misinformation out there. And there is no recourse. We also know AI is growing in power and ability to make a very misleading message." In cycling, veteran Spanish rider Mavi Garcia has won the second stage of the Tour de France Femmes. At the age of 41, Garcia has made history as the oldest stage winner of the race. The Liv-AlUla-Jayco rider launched her decisive move with 10 kilometres remaining, opening a gap of around 20 seconds on the chasing pack. She held on through the explosive final climb, crossing the line three seconds ahead of her pursuers. Garcia says the win means a lot to her. "I have had really hard times last year and now I feel it is different. It is more motivation for me. And now I believe more. In the training, I was really really good condition. But in the races never arrive. Not only the victory, but not my good feels - and also a lot of crashes, and a lot of things happen. And now, I don't know it is really good nowadays." Lorena Wiebes sprinted to second place, with Kim Le Court Pienaar of Mauritius finishing third and taking the overall leader's yellow jersey. Dutch star Marianne Vos, who wore the leader's jersey after winning Saturday's opening stage, finished fifth and surrendered her overall lead to Le Court Pienaar.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Donald Trump says Gaza is a 'mess' as Israel denies starvation crisis
US President Donald Trump has labelled Gaza "a mess" and says Israel would have to "make a decision" about its next steps in the strip, hours after aid restrictions were eased. Speaking at his golf course in Scotland, the president suggested Hamas had changed its stance on negotiations to release the 50 Israeli hostages the group still held captive, in exchange for a ceasefire in the war-ravaged strip. "They had a routine discussion the other day and all of a sudden [Hamas] hardened up," he said. "They don't want to give them back, and so Israel's going to have to make a decision." Mr Trump said the situation in Gaza had deteriorated dramatically. More than 100 humanitarian agencies had warned the strip was facing mass starvation, as Israeli restrictions on aid fuelled shortages of food and other supplies. Israel denied its actions had caused a starvation crisis, instead blaming Hamas for creating the situation. Palestinian health authorities said 133 people had died from starvation in the last week, with 87 of them children. "You know, when I see the children and when I see, especially over the last couple of weeks, and people are stealing the food, they're stealing the money, they're stealing the money for the food, they're stealing weapons, they're stealing everything," Mr Trump said. "It's a mess. That whole place is a mess." He suggested it was a mistake by then Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to withdraw from Gaza, although he could not name which Israeli leader had been responsible for the move. "The Gaza Strip, you know, was given many years ago so that they could have peace — that didn't work out too well," he said. "When Israel gave that up, whoever was the prime minister at the time, who I know who it was — but it was not exactly a very clever thing to do, because that was given so that they finally have peace. "And it's actually made the situation worse." Ceasefire and hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas have collapsed, with the White House's special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff saying the militant group displayed a "lack of desire to reach" a deal. "There is no point in continuing negotiations under blockade, extermination and starvation of our children, women and people in the Gaza Strip," Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya said on Sunday night. "The immediate and dignified entry of food and medications to our people is the real and serious expression of the viability of continuing negotiations." Despite the stalemate, Israel has bowed to international pressure over the humanitarian crisis which has developed in Gaza. The Netanyahu Government ordered a partial easing of the aid restrictions in the strip, with the changes coming into force on Sunday local time. Pallets of aid were dropped across Gaza by the Israeli, Jordanian and United Arab Emirates air forces, while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had established "secure corridors" for the United Nations and other agencies to distribute aid. There are reports that as many as 11 Palestinians were injured as the pallets fell on their tents. Even with more supplies entering Gaza, it remains a dangerous situation for Palestinians trying to secure supplies. The ABC found Alaa Abu Muteer, 47, lying on a thin mattress in the Al-Shifa hospital in a corridor full of injured Palestinians. "Currently, I am unemployed. I went to bring food for my children. I reached the location, and saw there Israeli tanks that began opening fire on the people, and I was shot in my back," he said. "I have [10] children. They are all hungry, and I am also hungry. "I am looking for a mouthful of bread. I now need treatment for the wounds that I have." The IDF told the ABC it was not aware of any shootings in the area. Marwari Al-Barari, 39, said she feared the aid situation in Gaza had fuelled a dangerous culture. "This has taught our children to use knives, things like that," she said. "I saw a 10-year-old boy carrying a knife. Where is he going to? He said he is going to the aid distribution." She said the airdrops were the wrong approach. "I fully reject it, because I was in the south and it happened in front of my eyes. The people were living next to me, and the parachutes came down," she said. "There was a boy, 12 years old, that was killed on the spot from a parachute. "Also, these parachutes cause the barbarism and killing and bullying and stabbing and so forth. I reject it in full." Israel has accused humanitarian organisations of refusing to pick up supplies which have been dropped on the Gaza side of the border fence. In response, Israel has been accused of making it too difficult and too dangerous to collect the supplies. "We have hundreds of trucks that are waiting on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom crossing," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. "We've just announced that formally — here are safe corridors. "And the UN has no excuses left. No excuses left, stop lying. Stop finding excuses, do what you have to do, and stop accusing Israel deliberately of this egregious falsehood." The prime minister again denied there was a starvation crisis in Gaza, despite changing his government's policy in the strip and the international consensus on the situation. "Israel is presented as though we are applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza — what a bold-faced lie," Mr Netanyahu said. "There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza. "Hamas rob, steals this humanitarian aid and then accuses Israel of not supplying it." Aid agencies have repeatedly denied that there is any evidence of Hamas stealing food and other items. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged the international community to continue pressuring Israel to allow more aid in. "When we think it can't get worse, it gets worse," he said. "Children are starving and dying in front of our eyes. "Gaza is a dystopian landscape of deadly attacks and total destruction."
