Israel deports Greta Thunberg, 170 other Global Sumud Flotilla activists

Tel Aviv (Web Desk): Israel on Monday deported another group of 171 foreign activists who had been detained after trying to break through its blockade of Gaza as part of an aid flotilla mission.

In a statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed that the deported individuals were members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

The ministry said the activists were flown to Greece and Slovakia. The deportees belonged to various countries such as Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Serbia, and the United States.

According to British media, Thunberg informed Swedish officials that she had been kept in a cell overrun with bedbugs and given inadequate food and water during her detention.

Separately, Turkish activist Ersin Celik told Anadolu Agency that Israeli officers “tortured Greta before our eyes,” forcing her to crawl and kiss the Israeli flag.

Over the past few days, Israel had already expelled around 170 other participants of the flotilla, with most sent to Istanbul and smaller groups sent to Italy and Spain, according to the Israeli legal group Adalah.

The Global Sumud Flotilla was seized last Wednesday when Israeli naval forces intercepted its vessels and detained over 470 activists from more than 50 countries. The flotilla had been carrying humanitarian aid intended for Gaza and aimed to protest against the long-standing blockade of the territory.

Israel has imposed its blockade on Gaza—an area with nearly 2.4 million inhabitants—for almost 18 years.

Since October 2023, Israeli airstrikes and shelling have killed more than 67,200 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, leaving the enclave devastated and facing severe famine under the ongoing siege.