South African journalist Gadijah Davids, who was caught up in a clash between the Israeli Defence Force and an aid ship bound for Gaza, is alive, her relieved mother Magboeba said on Tuesday.
“The mere fact that she is alive is quite consoling for us,” Davids said.
The Department of International Relations told the family that she had been found, and they were working on finding out more about the conditions that she was being held under.
Davids said her daughter had been aware of the risks prior to her departure.
Davids said Gadijah had been covering Palestinian issues for some time and already had an idea of what she might face. Davids said her daughter had wanted to be part of a team delivering medical supplies, and was not interested in anything military.
“She will come back a stronger person. It was a maiden experience for her on so many levels — it was the first time she left home, first big story, and now she has an international scoop — we are very proud of her.”
Daniel Seaman, spokesperson for the Israeli government, told the South Africa Press Association that the people on five of the six ships would be flown home as soon as they had identified themselves.
They were currently being held in prisons around Israel. They would be sent home because they had not engaged in violent confrontation with soldiers who boarded the vessels to search them.
The people on board the sixth — the Mavi Marmara — where nine people were killed when the soldiers rappelled on to the ship from helicopters — would be released only if authorities could establish they had played no part in physical confrontations with the soldiers.
The Israeli government said two of its soldiers’ guns were taken away and they were attacked with sticks and knives.
Outrageous attack
The United Nations Human Rights Council were expected to debate the raid on Tuesday.
A draft resolution sponsored by Pakistan and Sudan alongside the Palestinians “condemns in the strongest terms possible the outrageous attack by the Israeli forces” and said independent investigators should be sent to review possible violations of international law related to the incident.
The non-binding resolution also called on Israel to ensure that food, fuel and medical assistance reached the Gaza Strip.
Claire Kaplun, a spokesperson for the Geneva-based Council, said the discussion was scheduled to start at 1pm GMT and would last an estimated three hours.
Earlier on Tuesday, the UN Security Council issued a formal statement condemning the acts that caused deaths of civilians during the Israeli operation against the flotilla and called for an impartial investigation.
The Human Rights Council discussion could put more pressure on Israel about the military interception.
But the 47-member body has long been accused of singling out Israel while going easy on other rights abusers, eroding the influence of its past resolutions which have condemned Israel’s actions in occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories.
The United States, a key Israeli ally, currently holds a seat on the Human Rights Council.
On Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for an independent inquiry and urged the lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip.
“We need to establish exactly what happened. However, nothing can justify the appalling outcome of this operation, which reportedly took place in international waters,” she said in a statement. – Sapa, Reuters