Irish activist Caitriona Graham, who was on board the Gaza flotilla, has said she and her fellow activists were subjected to violence and psychological torture after being detained by Israel.“At various points there was a clear reality anyone could be attacked ... We had one person shot with a rubber bullet for crossing a line we had no idea we weren’t meant to cross, so it was very clear they were ready to use violence,” she told RTÉ’s Prime Time on Thursday night. Fourteen Irish citizens, including Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of President Catherine Connolly, are among the more than 400 people deported from Israel on Thursday.The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed all the activists had been deported. Footage of them arriving in Turkey was shared by the Global Sumud Flotilla on social media on Thursday afternoon.The Irish activists are understood to be undergoing medical treatment and meeting Irish embassy officials before returning to Ireland. No return details have yet been confirmed.[ Fourteen Irish flotilla activists subjected to ‘shocking treatment’ by Israel arrive in TurkeyOpens in new window ]The activists were arrested at a port in southern Israel after the Israeli navy intercepted their protest flotilla in international waters on Monday. Their treatment by ​police officers under Itamar Ben-Gvir’s direction drew an international outcry and a rebuke from the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu.A widely circulated video showed a detained Graham standing up and chanting “Free, free Palestine” at Ben-Gvir, before being restrained by soldiers and pushed back down by the head to a kneeling position. She said: “When I saw him coming, knowing the horrific crimes he has committed, I could not stay silent. I called ‘free Palestine’ as loudly as I could and I faced the repercussions.[ Israeli far-right minister’s Gaza flotilla abuses likely to be a vote-winnerOpens in new window ]“I was pulled to the ground, dragged away and brought into isolation and then had about eight commandos discussing in Hebrew what they were going to do to me, so I was preparing myself for anything that could happen next,” Graham added.“It was not too violent, thankfully, especially compared to what many others have experienced, but it was definitely a very real danger”.Dr Margaret Connolly (left), sister of President Catherine Connolly, was among those detained and deported by Israel. Photograph: Murad Sezer/Reuters She said flotilla detainees were strip-searched and “a lot of psychological torture and sleep deprivation tactics” were used.“This time on the prison boat, we were stripped of any warm clothing and left without any mattresses ... So many different things to try and disrupt us. We know we need to do everything we can ... to hold on to our power to make change happen,” Graham said.Flotilla organisers said they aimed to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance, ​something aid bodies say is still in short supply despite a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in place since October 2025 that includes guarantees of increased aid.Asked whether she thought the actions of the activists on the flotilla will bring attention back to Gaza, she said: “That is absolutely our intention. We’re going to do everything we can. We need to really highlight the genocide is ongoing.“We need to see governments taking action. I was really disappointed the Occupied Territories Bill has not gone through. I really hope there will be another vote as soon as possible,” Graham added.Minister of State at the Department of Justice Niall Collins said it was the Government’s intention to “proceed quite quickly before the summer recess to enact the Occupied Territories Bill”.Minister for Justice Helen McEntee confirmed on Thursday the Government planned to publish the long-delayed Bill in the coming weeks.Taoiseach Micheál Martin has written to the president of the European Council calling for a European Union-wide ban on products from Israeli settlements and the suspension of the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel following its “shocking treatment” of the Gaza activists detained at sea.