Australian police probe sexual assault allegations by Gaza flotilla activists against Israeli forces

“The Australian police have committed to taking on an independent investigation.”

Welcoming the probe, the Australian Centre for International Justice called the allegations “extremely serious.”

“In the context of an armed conflict, and where the conduct is connected to the enforcement of an unlawful blockade and the obstruction of humanitarian aid, the alleged conduct may amount to war crimes,” it said in a statement.

It said the conduct of Israeli forces “must be investigated as potential crimes against humanity, and where relevant, as conduct connected to genocide, including the deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza.”

Last month, legal representatives, victims and medical personnel from the Global Sumud Flotilla submitted evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC) alleging torture, sexual violence and abduction, and accusing Israeli military commanders and senior political leaders of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and acts related to the crime of genocide.

“The Global Sumud Flotilla aims to challenge the systemic impunity of the Israeli regime,” it said.

There are already several ICC arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Israeli war on Gaza, among other Israeli officials.

International human rights defenders and activists have made several attempts to break the siege of Gaza since the Israeli military launched its genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave in October 2023.