Australian Federal Police (AFP) is currently investigating allegations of sexual assault by Israeli forces after they raided the Gaza flotilla last month in international waters off the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The rare investigation, however, has left Hillel Newman, Israeli ambassador in Canberra, seething.
Israel "respect(s)" the AFP, but the investigation is a "mistake," Newman told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
At least four activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla met Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Monday.
The activists later said they "received an assurance the AFP would investigate their claims."
Later, the AFP said they began inquiries in line with a "victim-centric, trauma-informed approach."
The police would reach out to Israel to "collaborate on the investigation," according to a separate ABC report.
Newman, however, clarified the AFP had yet to approach Israel over the probe.
A total of 11 Australian activists were aboard the flotilla, which was attacked by Israeli forces last month while sailing towards the Palestinian besieged enclave of Gaza.
Wong "definitely believes we were kidnapped, that we were tortured and that we were imprisoned and that some of us were raped. So, that has been established that she believes that," said one of the activists after meeting the foreign minister.
"The AFP 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."
Global Sumud Flotilla legal representatives, victims and medical personnel also submitted an account of torture, sexual violence, and abduction to the International Criminal Court (ICC) last month, accusing Israeli military commanders and top political leaders of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and conduct relevant to the execution of 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 a war on Gaza in October 2023.
