In their own words: Gaza flotilla activists allege Israeli abuse

Activists released from Israeli custody after being detained on a Gaza-bound flotilla were subjected to abuse, according to organizers, with claims of electrocutions, injections and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape. 

An Israeli prison service spokesperson said the allegations raised are "false and entirely without factual basis."

Israeli forces arrested 430 people on board 50 ships in international waters on Tuesday to halt a flotilla of volunteers trying to bring aid supplies to the Gaza Strip.

The allegations will add to pressure on Israel to explain the treatment of the detainees, after video of far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir mocking activists sparked an international outcry.

Here are accounts from some of the activists:

Faizel Moosa, South African activist: "We were denied access to water for a while. Food they did give us, food that was not suitable for human consumption. We were denied access to toilets for many hours, and the minute we started protesting we were shot at with rubber bullets."

Christopher Boren, activist from Hawaii: "When we got to Ashdod port, I was immediately grabbed by five IDF [soldiers] or police officers. They put my head down and started beating me. One of them had gloves on with hardened plastic and he started punching my face and it swelled shut."

Alessandro Mantovani, Italian journalist: "I was kicked in the shin. Honestly, I don't expect it. And they say 'Welcome to Israel.' Then a punch to the face, one from this side, one from that side. A closed-fist punch. I moved to get up and I got kicked in the leg. A little jolt from a taser to the ribs. And then I make it out the other side of this container and reach the deck."

Luca Poggi, detained Italian economist: "We were stripped, thrown to the ground, kicked. Many of us were tasered, some were sexually assaulted, and some were denied access to a lawyer."

Yiannis Atmatzidis, Greek activist: "Whenever we told them that circulation was being cut off and our hands were going numb, they showed absolutely no mercy. I do not have the words to describe the brutality and cruelty of these people. It is something I will never forget."

Meriem Hadjal, French activist: "They made us go one by one into a pitch-black container. I was groped. I then got huge deafening slaps to the head and the groping continued. I was terrified. I thought I was going to be raped at that moment."

Zeynel Abidin Ozkan, Turkish activist: "We faced periods where we couldn't stand, our heads were bowed to the ground, we were dragged and pulled by our hair. The handcuffs left serious marks on us."

Pieter Rambags, Dutch activist: "They fired at our ship, which is pretty shocking because nobody ever in my life fired at me before. It's not normal. When we entered the prison ship, the violations continued by pulling our heads to the ground, smashing our heads to the ground and all the people on my ship, 180 people, when they were brought into the detention area, they were all heavily abused."

Violeta Nunez, Mexican activist: "We began to see special behavior in terms of the drones that had been following us since we left Barcelona. The next day, we had the first intervention of the flotilla, an interception afterwards, and then a kidnapping. Several of our companions, around 180, were kidnapped and experienced different forms of violence, including sexual violence in that first flotilla."