Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was deported from Israel on Tuesday, a day after Israeli naval forces intercepted the Gaza-bound aid ship she was on.
Thunberg and 11 other activists were on board a ship called the Madleen. The civilian aid boat attempted to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza with humanitarian aid.
Greta Thunberg was deported to Sweden just a day after her arrest
Highlights
- Greta Thunberg was deported from Israel after Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza-bound aid ship she was on.
- Carrying humanitarian aid, the civilian aid boat, the Madleen, tried to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza.
- Activists, including Thunberg, were detained, but some agreed to deportation while others remain held in detention.
- Israel accused the activists of ignoring Hamas atrocities and defended the blockade, citing security concerns.
- Sweden declined to intervene, saying responsibility lies with those who travel against official advice to conflict zones.
Image credits: Israel Foreign Ministry/X
On Monday, Israeli forces stopped the boat in international waters.
In a pre-recorded video posted on social media by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), Thunberg said: “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupational forces.”
She then called on her supporters to pressure the Swedish government for the release of her and her fellow crew members.
Thunberg, two other activists, and a journalist had agreed to be deported and leave Israel, according to Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing the activists.
Other activists refused deportation and are being held in detention. Their case was set to be heard by Israeli authorities.
Image credits: Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images
Initially, Adalah reported that Thunberg and others were most likely being held in Givon Prison near the town of Ramle.
However, on Tuesday morning, Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed her deportation.
A photo shared on X showed Thunberg boarding a plane bound for France, en route to Sweden.
The crew left Italy on June 1 to bring attention to the food crisis in Gaza in a mission organized by FFC.
On Monday, their radio communication was jammed, with drones dropping an unidentified white chemical substance on the deck before the Israeli forces boarded.
The aid crew was intercepted by Israeli forces on Monday
Image credits: Freedom Flotilla Coalition
Video released by the group showed the activists with their hands raised during the boarding.
Consequently, Israel’s Foreign Ministry on X said everyone was “safe and unharmed” and released images of the crew being given food and water.
Upon arrival in Ashdod, the activists were taken for medical examinations and then shown a screening of what Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called a “horror film” documenting Hamas’s October 7 attacks.
“When they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching,” Katz said, accusing Thunberg and the crew of ignoring Hamas atrocities by “closing their eyes to the truth.”
Sweden, Thunberg’s home country, refused to intervene.
Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard said on Monday that she believed Thunberg was not in need of support from the ministry.
“A great responsibility rests on those who choose to travel contrary to the advice given to a place,” she said outside Sweden’s parliament in the capital, Stockholm.
She also criticized the flood of calls from Greta’s supporters to Sweden’s emergency hotline, saying, “It blocks support for Swedes who are really in danger abroad.”
Image credits: Utku Ucrak/Getty Images
Protesters in Stockholm gathered Monday night to demand Sweden secure Thunberg’s release.
The Madleen also carried six French nationals. France’s Foreign Ministry said it is in contact with Israel to secure their return and reiterated that it had advised against participation in the voyage “due to the risks involved.”
The activists said their mission was peaceful and humanitarian. They were coming unarmed.
Israel maintains that the attempt violated its naval blockade of Gaza.
“The Gaza maritime zone remains an active conflict area, and Hamas has previously exploited sea routes for terrorist attacks, including the October 7th massacre,” the Israel Foreign Ministry wrote on X.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the voyage as a publicity stunt, posting on social media that “the ‘selfie yacht’ full of ‘celebrities’ is safely heading toward Israel’s shores.”
Image credits: Freedom Flotilla Coalition
After more than 600 days of war and a total blockade on aid entering Gaza since March, humanitarian organizations warn of famine. UN agency UNRWA has raised concerns about how hunger is being used as a weapon of war in the territory.
Over 100 civilians have been killed and 600 injured at Rafah aid distribution sites since May 27.
Earlier in May, another vessel by the FFC, the Conscience, was reportedly attacked by two drones in international waters near Malta, an incident the group blames Israel for.