Penny Wong says she believes Israeli soldiers sexually assaulted and abused Australian women after Gaza flotilla

‘Those allegations are terrible. They are horrific. The treatment is unacceptable. And I express my empathy to those women to whom that was done,’ foreign affairs minister Penny Wong said. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP View image in fullscreen ‘Those allegations are terrible. They are horrific. The treatment is unacceptable. And I express my empathy to those women to whom that was done,’ foreign affairs minister Penny Wong said. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Penny Wong says she believes Israeli soldiers sexually assaulted and abused Australian women after Gaza flotilla Foreign affairs minister says her position is to ‘always believe women’ when sexual assault allegations are made Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong , says she believes the Australian women who have alleged they were raped and beaten by Israeli soldiers after being detained as part of a humanitarian flotilla attempting to bring aid to Gaza. Appearing at Senate estimates, Wong said the treatment of the Australian women was “unacceptable”, and the allegations they had subsequently made were “distressing”. “My principled position is to always believe women when allegations of sexual assault are made,” Wong said. Australian flotilla activists arrive home alleging sexual assault and beatings in Israeli detention Read more Eleven Australians were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, sailing from Mediterranean ports in an attempt to deliver food, medicine and baby formula to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, blockaded by Israel . The boats were intercepted by Israeli naval forces and those onboard – unarmed civilians – were detained and deported, with some alleging violent abuse including beatings and rape. Israel has denied the allegations. Wong told the estimates committee: “Those allegations are terrible. They are horrific. The treatment is unacceptable. And I express my empathy to those women to whom that was done.” She said the Australian government had raised concerns with Israel over the treatment of flotilla sailors, and Israel’s refusal to grant Australian diplomats access to the Australians detained. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi detailed allegations made by some of the Australians detained by Israel. “One of these flotilla participants, Juliet Lamont, has said she was sexually assaulted and beaten, cable tied and had so much water thrown in her face that at one point she thought she was going to drown. She says ‘they wrenched my trousers and underwear down and I was raped by one of the soldiers’. My daughter was syringed with an unknown substance. Other people had guns inserted inside them. “Neve O’Connor, another one of these brave humanitarians, has said she was abused, physically beaten and sexually humiliated. She says ‘I had my hands pinned behind my back while being repeatedly kneed in the spine, kneed in the thighs’. “And Violet CoCo has told us that she was held at gunp