Two Herald journalists captured by Israeli commandos and deported after being caught up in this week's deadly Gaza flotilla attack spoke today of their ordeal.
The Sydney Morning Herald's chief correspondent Paul McGeough told of being aboard one of the Gaza aid flotilla vessels and seeing shadows of the Israeli troops' Zodiac boats circling.
He said it felt like "hyenas hunting animals in the night".
When the commandos attacked the flotilla, it resulted in nine dead.
With photographer Kate Geraghty, McGeough arrived in Istanbul today on a Turkish military flight after being held in an Israeli prison since Monday.
Speaking by phone for the first time after touching down in Istanbul, McGeough told smh.com.au that he and Geraghty were "in good shape" although "Kate and I got pushed around".
He said that tension had been rising "for some hours" in the lead up to the early morning confrontation with the flotilla.
He said the Israelis then "moved in suddenly from both sides".
A phone was snatched from his hand.
"One of the activists had a gun pulled on her," McGeough said.
He said that it was a "scary and frightening" time but that paint pellets, not live ammunition, had been used on the boat he was on, Challenger One.
The incident was "very ugly" and "testosterone-driven", McGeough said, and commandos had stood over activists in a "bullying" way.
Israel has rejected calls for a commission of inquiry into the events surrounding Monday's confrontation.
But it has faced international condemnation after it raided the convoy of activists and aid workers on their way to Gaza to break an Israeli blockade on the strip.
Nine people were killed in the confrontation but Israel maintains that its commandos were attacked by the protesters.
Geraghty believes she was hit by a stun gun fired by Israeli commandos after they boarded her ship.
She suffered bruises, minor burns and nausea.
Geraghty said today that she was "safe and "very happy" to be released from detention.
While she had been "frightened" during the confrontation, she said her injuries were "minor" compared with what happened to others onboard the flotilla.
It was early morning in Istanbul and both journalists were waiting at the airport to access equipment, including cameras, that were confiscated by the Israelis.
The confiscation was "an absolute disrespect by Israel" for democracy and the fundamental rights of journalists, McGeough said.
The Herald's editor, Peter Fray, said he was "elated" that he could speak to McGeough and Geraghty and relieved that they were out of prison.
He said he was angry at how they had been treated.
He said the Herald would pursue all legal, moral, ethical and journalistic avenues to ensure his staff "are able to do their jobs as bona fide and excellent journalists".
McGeough said that he would fight his deportation from Israel in absentia.
Fairfax Media chief executive and managing director Brian McCarthy spoke to McGeough soon after he landed in Istanbul today.
"I am very proud of the courage and professionalism they have shown in covering this very important story under extremely difficult circumstances.
"I look forward to reading their eyewitness account in tomorrow's Sydney Morning Herald."
One Australian remains injured in an Israeli hospital and two other Australians were among last night's group of deportees.
Source: smh.com.au 
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