US journalist recounts ‘extreme brutality, threats of rape’ after Israeli flotilla seizure

An American journalist has recounted the tragic ordeal she went through after the Israeli regime forces stormed and impounded the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla Coalition, saying she and her companions were subjected to “extreme brutality” at the hands of the occupation soldiers, including beatings and “threats of rape.”

Noa Avishag Schnall, a Jewish photojournalist who used to report from the Conscience vessel of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, detailed her ordeal in a video statement on Tuesday after being released from Israeli detention.

“Our boat, the Conscience, was attacked in international waters around 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. The brutality began immediately. We were taken through multiple levels of administration and the first of many strip searches; at least one woman has reported being physically penetrated by guards who laughed at her pain,” Schnall, who appeared in the video with a black eye and bruises, told Drop Site News.

“Many flotilla members reported watching their valuables being looted by guards during bag searches. All of us had our hands violently shoved towards the ground and arms held in stress positions behind us, many with zip-ties, and were led through processing and sorted into groups of men and women, then blindfolded. Several of the 150 total flotilla members, including me, were targeted for extreme brutality throughout imprisonment.”

The Los Angeles-born and Paris-based photojournalist also said the Israeli prison guards beat her and other members of the flotilla, and blocked her airways by sitting on her neck and face.

Israel attacks Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla Coalition, intercepts some vessels

The Israeli military has launched an attack on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) by intercepting several of its boats and vessels.

“Any flotilla member who upset the Israeli guards was subjected to twisted and tightened handcuffs and some received beatings. I was hung from the metal shackles on my wrists and ankles and beaten in the stomach, back, face, ear, and skull by a group of men and women guards, one of whom sat on my neck and face, blocking my airways,” Schnall said.

“Many comrades, understandably, do not want their identity made public when recounting this treatment. During the evening, the men were tormented by guards with attack dogs and guns. The women were threatened with pepper spray. Our cell was awoken with threats of rape.”

On October 8, the Israeli military raided the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) sailing toward the Gaza Strip to break the occupying regime’s longtime blockade of the Palestinian territory.

The FFC carried medicines, respiratory equipment and supplies intended for hospitals in Gaza.

The incident was the second such event in a week, after Israel intercepted about 40 vessels and detained more than 450 activists in an aid convoy, the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was also attempting to deliver supplies to Gaza.

Israel has maintained a stringent siege on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for nearly 18 years and further tightened the blockade in March, when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the territory into famine.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have claimed the lives of more than 67,000 Palestinians in the coastal strip, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.

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