Wales’ flotilla activists say they are undeterred despite being beaten and tortured at the hands of the Israeli’s.

On 18 May, three Welsh sailors were aboard some of the 50+ Global Sumud Flotilla boats which were illegally intercepted by Israeli forces whilst off the coast of Cyprus.

They were taken aboard two prison ships where they described systematised violence, being queued outside a shipping container whilst hearing the screams and wails of their comrades being beaten one by one.

Hannah Schafer, 62, from New Quay, Richard Andersen, 50, from Llanbrynmair, and Chris Hill, 67, from Clwt y Bont, are now safely returned to Wales, but all three of them say they would do another mission.

Hannah, a sailing instructor, who was also kidnapped during another flotilla mission last autumn, said: “Absolutely I’d do it again.

“The more they beat me to put me off, the less likely I was to be put off.

“If the governments were doing their job we wouldn’t need to sail.

“As long as governments support Israel in their treatment of Palestinians and neighbouring countries, until there’s peace in that area I think it’s important for us to keep going.

“Hopefully we’ll inspire other people to do stuff for Gaza.”

The flotilla was en route to Gaza to deliver aid and open an aid corridor by sea, breaking a decades-long blockade held by Israeli forces.

However, they were stopped on their mission and kidnapped whilst in international waters.

Chris Hill, who left a wife and two adult children at home, was targeted by guards for wearing a T-shirt of a Palestinian aid organisation: “I was dragged down the side of a shipping container where they punched me in the face, beating me and kicking me in the back and the legs.

“I ended up on the ground where they zip-tied me, then a guard pulled his face covering off and said ‘remember me’ before punching me in the face and knocking me to the floor.”

But he said these “intimidation” tactics didn’t work: “I think the resolve of most of my colleagues and myself has just hardened.

“I would definitely do it again.

“The point is to try.”

He pointed to Israel’s blocking 37 international NGOs from working in Gaza, including ActionAid, International Rescue Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières and Norwegian Refugee Council, adding that if the Israeli forces genuinely wanted the flotilla’s aid to get through, they could have delivered it.

Israel has always called its sea blockade legal, designed to stop weapons reaching Hamas and other groups.

Richard, a timber frame builder, said at no point were they told why they were stopped, held, beaten and deported, apart from when they were taken to Ashdod port where a clerk attempted to get them to admit to entering a restricted military zone.

He described being stripped to their underwear, strip-searched multiple times, not being able to sleep because of the cold and the cramped conditions, and unable to lie down because the compound was full of some of the 400+ activists who had been captured.

Richard said that the ground was regularly flooded with seawater, that the guards used stun grenades whenever they entered, providing inadequate water and stale bread whilst withholding sanitary supplies and medicine, and the captives were kept in stress positions on their knees with hands behind their back in the sun for hours.

He described his shipmate becoming concussed from the force of being thrown to the floor but left untreated, being shot at and guards using tasers, whilst others reported incidents of rape and sexual assault.

He said his own “light beatings” weren’t as bad as hearing his fellow prisoners' screams: “It was the horror of seeing your comrades come through the door with this ashen, traumatised look in their eyes, hearing the screams and wails inside those walls.

“It definitely had the intended effect of traumatising us by forcing us to listen.

“There was also a deep grief, seeing the cruelty these soldiers were enacting as a matter of course, just another day at the office.”

Hannah said that when she was captured in autumn “you could tell people were on their best behaviour”, but that this year “they’d been let off the leash”: “We were given a tiny taste of how they must treat Palestinian prisoners every day; the difference for us is we knew there were people at home campaigning for our release.

“I think they were more brutal to put people off doing it again.

“Because they keep getting away with all these breaches of international law, they are a law unto themselves.”

She said that despite not delivering their aid, they accomplished some of their aims - to highlight the daily experience of Palestinians, show solidarity with Palestinians, and get Gaza back onto the news: “In spite of the horrific experience, that was a few days after two months at sea with lots of amazing people trying to do something positive for the world - that will always stick in my mind more than the abuse.”

After being held on the prison ships for two days, the 400+ activists were taken from Ashdod port to an Israeli prison, and deported to Istanbul on 21 May.

The Israeli Prison Service said all allegations raised were “false and entirely without factual basis”, adding that “all prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law with full regard for their basic rights”.

Chris, who sustained nerve damage from the abusive use of handcuffs at the prison, which Hannah described as stamped with ‘made in England’ in the metal, said the support he received from the British Foreign Office and Consulates was “appalling”: “I had just been abducted and mistreated, had no money or phone. The consulate staff [in Istanbul] were hard to find and left the Turkish authorities to sort us out.”

Arriving home, there was a mixed reception - being flown first to Istanbul, supporters greeted them with cheers, waving flags and a press conference with media from different countries.

Arriving at Stansted, police prevented a press conference at the adjacent Hilton hotel from taking place, citing that there could be trouble, and stopped them from chanting or waving flags.

Chris, who is involved in coordinating the Global Sumud Flotilla, said the organisation is currently regrouping to decide where to apply pressure next.

The Met Police and UK Foreign Office have been contacted for comment.