Families urge action after Hunter men among Australians detained on Gaza aid flotilla

30 April 2026

An image of the Australian group on their vessel. (Image: Supplied by Rising Tide)

The families of six Australians travelling with the Global Sumud Flotilla have urged the federal government to protect their loved ones after organisers said Israeli naval forces intercepted aid vessels in international waters west of Crete overnight.

The Australian delegation said Bianca Webb-Pullman, Ethan Floyd, Zack Schofield, Neve O’Connor, Surya McEwen and Cameron Tribe were on board vessels intercepted while carrying aid to Gaza. Organisers said the fleet was about 1400 kilometres from Gaza when the Israeli navy surrounded and intercepted 22 of 58 boats, detaining dozens of people, including Australian citizens. They said the remaining vessels would continue sailing towards Greek waters, including boats carrying at least two Australians, Anny Mokotow and Sam Woripa Watson.

Federal Member for Hunter Dan Repacholi said he was aware of reports involving a young man from the Hunter region who was on board the Global Sumud Flotilla near Greece earlier today. “I understand this is a distressing situation for his family, friends, and the broader community, and there are real concerns about his safety and wellbeing,” Mr Repacholi said. “I am in contact with Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s office and relevant authorities to seek urgent clarification regarding his whereabouts and condition. My thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australian officials were urgently seeking an update from Israeli authorities and were ready to provide consular assistance to any affected Australians. A DFAT spokesperson said the department’s “ability to provide support in Israel and Palestine is limited at this time due to the conflict in the Middle East”.

“We continue to urge Australians not to join others seeking to break the Israeli naval blockade, as they are putting themselves and others at risk of injury, death, arrest or deportation,” the spokesperson said. “We encourage those wishing to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza to do so through established channels. Australia has been part of the international call on Israel to comply with the binding orders of the International Court of Justice, including to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance at scale. With a ceasefire in Gaza in place, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian aid must flow to those in desperate need.”

The ABC reported Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, had confirmed the interception and described the flotilla as “provocative”. The Israeli military told the ABC it enforced the marine security blockade on Gaza and was prepared for a range of scenarios.

Neve O’Connor posted on Instagram early this morning: “We are in the sight of a potential warship from an unknown entity. We don’t know what’s going on. We’re completely at a loss, our radios have been jammed, there’s drone activity… we’re preparing for interception.”

Zack Schofield, who was also aboard the flotilla, said: “We’ve had drones flying over us all night and there are many reports of warships and tactical RIBs with tactical units on board shining lights and harassing the fleet. We’re nowhere close to the claimed territorial waters of Israel, and what is really terrifying about this is that it’s yet another example of Israel breaking every single international law in the book to continue their genocide of the Palestinians. If they are seizing us here on the high seas that is so clearly an act of kidnapping and piracy under international law, the question is will any of our governments take action against them?”

Zack Schofield’s mother, Joanne Jaworoski, told a press conference in Sydney this morning: “Zack is our only son. He’s our only child. He’s on the flotilla because he is kind, smart, and caring, and he has understood that the people in Gaza have been deliberately being starved, and he was on the flotilla to deliver food and medicine to the sick and the starving in Gaza, which is a legal act. So I’ve asked Minister Wong’s office, Sharon Claydon’s office, and DFAT to call me and let me know exactly what they’re doing and what they have done to secure everyone’s safety.”

His father, Dr Peter Schofield, said: “We are obviously very concerned about the safety of our son but we remind ourselves that the anxiety and pain that we feel today is but a token relative to the privation, the desperate straits that those Palestinian people are experiencing day by day, month by month, year by year.”

Australian Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi said the government had a responsibility to protect Australian citizens. “The track record of the Albanese government, the Prime Minister, and Minister Wong has been woeful on how they have taken no action to stop the genocide. It is a legal, lawful, peaceful, humanitarian mission that they are on. It is Minister Wong’s job to protect Australian citizens and to look after their safety. It is Israel that has breached international law. Surely, this is the bare minimum that the foreign minister should be doing, to make sure that all Australian citizens are brought back to Australia safely.”

Simon Jones, head of the Australian delegation of the Global Movement to Gaza, said: “It is absolutely outrageous that Israel has once again illegally taken hostage humanitarian volunteers in international waters as they seek to get life-saving aid to Gaza. We demand that Minister Penny Wong and the Department of Foreign Affairs issue an unequivocal condemnation of Israel’s actions as a violation of international law and extend immediate diplomatic protection to all Australian participants. We are calling on all nations to respond to this egregious act of state-sanctioned piracy by sending their own humanitarian aid vessels to ensure food, medicine and baby formula can reach the people of Gaza.”

Snap rallies are being organised for this evening and tomorrow in solidarity with the Australians detained on the flotilla.