🔗 Share this article

Families of held participants from New Zealand have expressed concern about harsh treatment in Israel's custody, featuring lack of access to water and attorney access.

Flotilla Participants Encounter Expulsion

Approximately seventy activists from different backgrounds are expected to be removed from the country, among them 28 French nationals, twenty-seven Greeks, 15 Italian citizens, and 9 Swedes.

Loved One Testimonies of Harsh Conditions

Adrian Leason voiced deep concern about his son's condition, reporting: "I'm extremely anxious about him, as he sits in a holding cell right now, in a cage packed with numerous individuals... he has been lacking water and attorney access."

Health Concerns and Management

Heba Hamida mentioned that her loved one had experienced an shoulder injury to her arm, though the relatives remained unclear about the details of how it happened.

"I'm just going to ask the government to respond and bring our dear ones back unharmed and in good health," Hamida commented.

Government Reactions

New Zealand's diplomatic corps provided a statement indicating that a diplomatic representative in the region had visited the citizens and that additional assistance would be provided in the near future.

At the same time, Israel's diplomatic authorities has rejected allegations that some detainees were denied access their attorneys and stated that the legal rights of the detainees were being "entirely maintained."

Further Allegations of Harsh Conditions

Legal representatives assisting the held individuals have claimed that some of those in confinement have endured mistreatment and physical harm while in detention facilities.

• Lack of access medical treatment and medication
• In one case, a woman of faith was forced to take off her head covering
• Limited access to fundamental requirements

Government Responses

The representative of the country's political group, Chlöe Swarbrick, stated to a public gathering that the held nationals were working to create a world "in which our compassion actually matters."

At the same time, the government official Winston Peters accused critics of "artificial anger" and suggested that individuals of the flotilla were "headline hunting" and had been warned not to engage with the mission.

The head of government the official informed the media that diplomats had conveyed "forcefully to the Israeli government" that the well-being of nationals was essential.

However, the official refused to denounce the country's interception of the flotilla because there were "perspectives on multiple sides."