A Jewish student has spoken of her terror after she and her family were held at gunpoint by Jordanian soldiers off the coast of Israel while on holiday.

Ellie Novack, a fashion student at Leeds College of Art, said she was told to “shut up and spare your tears” during the traumatic experience on Sunday, which lasted more than an hour.

Ms Novack, who lives in north-west London outside of term time, wrote on Facebook: “Without any warning we regretfully got too close to the Jordanian water and were held hostage by a group of 10 Jordanian soldiers.

"Although 'soldier' is most definitely not the correct word to describe these animals by.

“After being attached to their boat for over an hour, pleading, begging and trying to stay strong … holding back our tears, for reasons unknown they drove us back to Israeli waters, where we were saved by the IDF.”

An Israeli Defence Forces spokeswoman confirmed that the family had rented a boat and sailed along the coast of Eilat.

She explained that “following a failure to adhere to the sailing laws of the area, the family left the maritime territory of Israel and entered into that of Jordan. Shortly after, they were arrested by Jordanian security forces.

“In response to the incident, the IDF’s naval forces in the Red Sea immediately contacted Jordanian forces and within a half hour, the family was safely escorted by a navy vessel back to Israel.”

The student, who went to King Alfred School in London, said the incident had left her feeling “so blessed and lucky to be alive.

“I still can't get my head around the fact we are safe and sound back on Israeli land. If you are ever in Eilat and rent a boat or any form of water sports [vehicle], stay close to the shore,” she cautioned.