Penny Wong says she believes Israeli soldiers sexually assaulted and abused Australian women after Gaza flotilla

Foreign affairs minister says her position is to ‘always believe women’ when sexual assault allegations are made

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The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says she believes the Australian women who have alleged they were sexually assaulted and beaten by Israeli soldiers after being detained as part of a humanitarian flotilla attempting to bring aid to Gaza.

Appearing at Senate estimates, Wong said the treatment of the Australian women was “unacceptable”, and the allegations they had subsequently made were “distressing”.