Al Jazeera
Sat, October 4, 2025
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg (C) deported, after she was arrested on board an aid boat for Gaza with other pro-Palestinian activists who were taken to Ben Gurion airport for deportation on June 10 2025 [File: Anders WIKLUND/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP]
Several international activists deported from Israel after joining a Gaza aid flotilla have accused Israeli forces of mistreating climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
The 137 deportees landed in Istanbul on Saturday, including 36 Turkish nationals alongside activists from the United States, Italy, Malaysia, Kuwait, Switzerland, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan and other countries, Turkish officials confirmed.
Turkish journalist and Gaza Sumud Flotilla participant Ersin Celik told local media outlets he witnessed Israeli forces “torture Greta Thunberg,” describing how she was “dragged on the ground” and “forced to kiss the Israeli flag.”
Malaysian activist Hazwani Helmi and American participant Windfield Beaver gave similar accounts at Istanbul Airport, alleging Thunberg was shoved and paraded with an Israeli flag.
“It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,” Helmi said, adding that detainees were denied food, clean water, and medication.
Beaver said Thunberg was “treated terribly” and “used as propaganda,” recalling how she was shoved into a room as far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered.
Italian journalist Lorenzo Agostino, who had been on the flotilla, also cited the treatment of Thunberg.
“Greta Thunberg, a brave woman, is only 22 years old. She was humiliated and wrapped in an Israeli flag and exhibited like a trophy,” he told Anadolu.
Others described severe mistreatment. Turkish TV presenter Ikbal Gurpinar said, “They treated us like dogs. They left us hungry for three days. They didn’t give us water; we had to drink from the toilet … It was a terribly hot day, and we were all roasting.” She said the ordeal gave her “a better understanding of Gaza”.
Turkish activist Aycin Kantoglu recounted bloodstained prison walls and messages scrawled by previous detainees. “We saw mothers writing their children’s names on the walls. We actually experienced a little bit of what Palestinians go through,” she said.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians had been deported, while 15 remained in Israeli custody awaiting expulsion.
Italian MP Arturo Scotto, who was on the flotilla, told reporters, “Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza.”
Adalah, an Israeli rights group providing legal aid, said that detainees reported being forced to kneel with zip-tied hands for hours, denied medication, and blocked from speaking with lawyers. Israel’s foreign ministry dismissed the claims as “complete lies,” insisting all detainees were treated according to law.
“All of Adalah’s claims are complete lies. Of course, all detainees … were given access to water, food, and restrooms; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights were fully upheld,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told the news agency Reuters.
Israel has faced mounting condemnation for the raid on the flotilla, which saw its navy intercept approximately 40 boats carrying aid to Gaza and detain more than 450 people on board.
Critics say the assault underscores the illegality of Israel’s blockade, which has cut off the enclave’s 2.3 million residents during Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
The flotilla, launched in late August, was the latest international effort to break Israel’s siege and deliver aid to Palestinians.
Israel accused of detaining Greta Thunberg in infested cell and making her hold flags
Lorenzo Tondo in Palermo and Damian Carrington in London
Sat, October 4, 2025
THE GUARDIAN
Israeli forces have also reportedly taken photographs of Greta Thunberg where she was allegedly forced to hold flags
.Photograph: Israel Foreign Ministry/Reuters
The environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg has told Swedish officials she is being subjected to harsh treatment in Israeli custody after her detention and removal from a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza, according to correspondence seen by the Guardian.
According to the correspondence, Israeli forces are also reported by another detainee to have taken photographs where Thunberg was allegedly forced to hold flags. The identity of the flags is unknown.
In an email sent by the Swedish foreign ministry to people close to Thunberg, and seen by the Guardian, an official who has visited the activist in prison said she claimed she was detained in a cell infested with bedbugs, with too little food and water.
“The embassy has been able to meet with Greta,” reads the email. “She informed of dehydration. She has received insufficient amounts of both water and food. She also stated that she had developed rashes which she suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”
“Another detainee reportedly told another embassy that they had seen her [Thunberg] being forced to hold flags while pictures were taken. She wondered whether images of her had been distributed,” the Swedish ministry’s official added.
The allegation was corroborated by at least two other members of the flotilla who had been detained by Israeli forces and released on Saturday.
“They dragged little Greta [Thunberg] by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others,” the Turkish activist ErsinÇelik, a participant in the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu news agency.
Lorenzo D’Agostino, a journalist and another flotilla participant, said after returning to Istanbul that Thunberg was “wrapped in the Israeli flag and paraded like a trophy” – a scene described with disbelief and anger by those who witnessed it.
Thunberg is among 437 activists, parliamentarians and lawyers who were part of the Global Sumud flotilla, a coalition of more than 40 vessels carrying humanitarian aid whose goal was to breach Israel’s 16-year maritime blockade of Gaza.
Between Thursday and Friday, Israeli forces intercepted all the boats and arrested every crew member onboard. Most of them are being held at Ketziot, also known as Ansar III, a high-security prison in the Negev desert used primarily to detain Palestinian security prisoners, many of whom Israel accuses of involvement in militant or terrorist activities.
In the past, activists detained by Israel were not criminally prosecuted and instead their presence was treated as an immigration matter.
According to lawyers from the NGO Adalah, the rights of the crew members have been “systematically violated”, activists denied water, sanitation, medication and immediate access to their legal representatives “in clear breach of their fundamental rights to due process, impartial trial and legal representation”.
The Italian legal team representing the flotilla confirmed those detained were left “for hours without food or water – until late last night”, with the exception of “a packet of crisps handed to Greta and shown to the cameras”. Lawyers also reported instances of verbal and physical abuse.
During a visit to Ashdod on Thursday night, Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was filmed calling the activists “terrorists” as he stood in front of them.
“These are the terrorists of the flotilla,” he said, speaking in Hebrew and pointing at dozens of people sitting on the ground. His spokesperson confirmed the video was filmed at Ashdod port on Thursday night.
Some activists were heard shouting: “Free Palestine.”
Ben-Gvir has previously called for the activists to be jailed rather than deported.
After their arrest, the flotilla’s legal team expressed concern over the treatment the crew members might face, particularly those who had previously been detained by Israeli authorities after attempts to break Gaza’s naval blockade. This marks the second time Thunberg has been arrested alongside other flotilla members, after a similar attempt earlier this year ended with the activists’ arrest and deportation.
Baptiste André, a French doctor who was on one of the boats of the flotilla in June, told reporters upon his return to France that he witnessed Israeli border agents mock and deliberately deprive passengers of sleep, in particular Thunberg
The Swedish official said in the email that Thunberg was asked by Israeli authorities to sign a document.
“She expressed uncertainty about what the document meant and did not want to sign anything she did not understand,” reads the email. The Swedish ministry’s official wrote that Thunberg has had access to legal counsel.
Adalah said in an earlier statement about the legal process that although Israeli authorities would have a record of repeat participants in aid flotillas, activists, such as Thunberg, were generally treated in the same way as first-time participants, subject to short-term detention and deportation.
The Guardian contacted the Israel Prison Service, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli ministry for foreign affairs but none have yet responded to a request for comment.
The Swedish foreign ministry said its embassy officials had visited nine detained Swedes on Friday: “The Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv remains in contact with Israeli authorities to stress the importance of swift processing and the possibility of returning home to Sweden. Based on discussions with detained individuals, the importance of addressing individual medical needs was also emphasised.
“Moreover, the embassy stressed that food and clean water must be provided immediately, and that all detainees must be given access to Israeli legal counsel, if desired.”
The Israeli embassy said the allegations were “complete lies”. “All detainees from the Hamas-Sumud provocation were given access to water, food and toilets; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights, including access to medical care, were fully upheld.
The environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg has told Swedish officials she is being subjected to harsh treatment in Israeli custody after her detention and removal from a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza, according to correspondence seen by the Guardian.
According to the correspondence, Israeli forces are also reported by another detainee to have taken photographs where Thunberg was allegedly forced to hold flags. The identity of the flags is unknown.
In an email sent by the Swedish foreign ministry to people close to Thunberg, and seen by the Guardian, an official who has visited the activist in prison said she claimed she was detained in a cell infested with bedbugs, with too little food and water.
“The embassy has been able to meet with Greta,” reads the email. “She informed of dehydration. She has received insufficient amounts of both water and food. She also stated that she had developed rashes which she suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”
“Another detainee reportedly told another embassy that they had seen her [Thunberg] being forced to hold flags while pictures were taken. She wondered whether images of her had been distributed,” the Swedish ministry’s official added.
The allegation was corroborated by at least two other members of the flotilla who had been detained by Israeli forces and released on Saturday.
“They dragged little Greta [Thunberg] by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others,” the Turkish activist ErsinÇelik, a participant in the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu news agency.
Lorenzo D’Agostino, a journalist and another flotilla participant, said after returning to Istanbul that Thunberg was “wrapped in the Israeli flag and paraded like a trophy” – a scene described with disbelief and anger by those who witnessed it.
Thunberg is among 437 activists, parliamentarians and lawyers who were part of the Global Sumud flotilla, a coalition of more than 40 vessels carrying humanitarian aid whose goal was to breach Israel’s 16-year maritime blockade of Gaza.
Between Thursday and Friday, Israeli forces intercepted all the boats and arrested every crew member onboard. Most of them are being held at Ketziot, also known as Ansar III, a high-security prison in the Negev desert used primarily to detain Palestinian security prisoners, many of whom Israel accuses of involvement in militant or terrorist activities.
In the past, activists detained by Israel were not criminally prosecuted and instead their presence was treated as an immigration matter.
According to lawyers from the NGO Adalah, the rights of the crew members have been “systematically violated”, activists denied water, sanitation, medication and immediate access to their legal representatives “in clear breach of their fundamental rights to due process, impartial trial and legal representation”.
The Italian legal team representing the flotilla confirmed those detained were left “for hours without food or water – until late last night”, with the exception of “a packet of crisps handed to Greta and shown to the cameras”. Lawyers also reported instances of verbal and physical abuse.
During a visit to Ashdod on Thursday night, Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was filmed calling the activists “terrorists” as he stood in front of them.
“These are the terrorists of the flotilla,” he said, speaking in Hebrew and pointing at dozens of people sitting on the ground. His spokesperson confirmed the video was filmed at Ashdod port on Thursday night.
Some activists were heard shouting: “Free Palestine.”
Ben-Gvir has previously called for the activists to be jailed rather than deported.
After their arrest, the flotilla’s legal team expressed concern over the treatment the crew members might face, particularly those who had previously been detained by Israeli authorities after attempts to break Gaza’s naval blockade. This marks the second time Thunberg has been arrested alongside other flotilla members, after a similar attempt earlier this year ended with the activists’ arrest and deportation.
Baptiste André, a French doctor who was on one of the boats of the flotilla in June, told reporters upon his return to France that he witnessed Israeli border agents mock and deliberately deprive passengers of sleep, in particular Thunberg
The Swedish official said in the email that Thunberg was asked by Israeli authorities to sign a document.
“She expressed uncertainty about what the document meant and did not want to sign anything she did not understand,” reads the email. The Swedish ministry’s official wrote that Thunberg has had access to legal counsel.
Adalah said in an earlier statement about the legal process that although Israeli authorities would have a record of repeat participants in aid flotillas, activists, such as Thunberg, were generally treated in the same way as first-time participants, subject to short-term detention and deportation.
The Guardian contacted the Israel Prison Service, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli ministry for foreign affairs but none have yet responded to a request for comment.
The Swedish foreign ministry said its embassy officials had visited nine detained Swedes on Friday: “The Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv remains in contact with Israeli authorities to stress the importance of swift processing and the possibility of returning home to Sweden. Based on discussions with detained individuals, the importance of addressing individual medical needs was also emphasised.
“Moreover, the embassy stressed that food and clean water must be provided immediately, and that all detainees must be given access to Israeli legal counsel, if desired.”
The Israeli embassy said the allegations were “complete lies”. “All detainees from the Hamas-Sumud provocation were given access to water, food and toilets; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights, including access to medical care, were fully upheld.
Israel intercepts last Gaza flotilla boat, begins deportations
REUTERS AND JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Fri, October 3, 2025
FILE PHOTO: Crew interacts from aboard a boat, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla
aiming to reach Gaza
The Global Sumud Flotilla said Israeli naval forces had intercepted "all 42 of our vessels—each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination," to break the blockade of Gaza.
The Israeli Navy intercepted the last boat in an aid flotilla attempting to reach blockaded Gaza on Friday, a day after stopping most of the vessels and detaining some 450 activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg.
The organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said the Marinette was intercepted some 42.5 nautical miles (79 km) from Gaza. Israeli army radio said the navy had taken control of the last ship in the flotilla, detained those aboard and that the vessel was being led to Ashdod port in Israel.
The IDF dubbed the mission "Operation Horizon Shield," adding that it took 12 hours to take over all the vessels during the Yom Kippur holiday that attempted to breach the maritime blockade.
Navy units used by Israel in the operation included the Shayetet 13, Shayetet 3, and Snapir troops, amongst others. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir was also present at the military operation at the Navy command center.
“The Navy stands up to a mission that requires determination and professionalism, to ensure that any attempt to breach the maritime security blockade will be stopped far from our shores," said Israeli Navy Commander VAdm. David Saar Salama.
In a statement, the Global Sumud Flotilla said Israeli naval forces had now "illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels—each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza."
A camera broadcasting from the Marinette showed someone holding up a note saying "We see a ship! It's a war ship," before a boat is seen approaching and soldiers boarding. A voice is heard telling the people on board not to move and to put their hands in the air.
An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the boat's status. The ministry said on Thursday the flotilla's one remaining vessel would be prevented from breaching the blockade if it tried to.
IDF intercepts last of Gaza flotilla
The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge Israel's naval blockade of the enclave, almost two years into Israel's siege of Gaza, which was sparked by terrorist group Hamas's October 7 attacks.
Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt. The foreign ministry had said the flotilla was previously warned that it was approaching an active combat zone and violating a "lawful naval blockade," and asked organizers to change course. It had offered to transfer aid to Gaza.
The Israeli foreign ministry on Friday said that four Italians had been deported. "The rest are in the process of being deported. Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible," it said in a statement. All the flotilla participants were "safe and in good health," it added.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets in cities across Europe, as well as in Karachi, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City on Thursday, to protest the flotilla's interception.
On Friday, tens of thousands of Italians demonstrated, as part of a day-long general strike called by unions in support of the flotilla.
During a visit to Ashdod on Thursday night, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was filmed calling the activists "terrorists" as he stood in front of them.
"These are the terrorists of the flotilla," he said, speaking in Hebrew and pointing at dozens of people sitting on the ground. His spokesperson confirmed the video was filmed at Ashdod port on Thursday night.
Some activists are heard shouting "Free Palestine."
Cyprus said one of the flotilla boats had docked in Cyprus with 21 foreigners aboard. The vessel had asked to dock in Larnaca for refueling and humanitarian reasons, a Cypriot government spokesperson said.
The spokesperson did not identify the boat or say whether it had been among those stopped by the Israeli military.
Israel has faced widespread global condemnation over the war in Gaza, and is defending itself against charges of genocide in the International Court of Justice.
Israel says its actions have been in self-defense and has consistently denied genocide allegations.
Israel's offensive has killed over 66,000 people, Palestinian health authorities say. It began after Hamas-led terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed during the assault, and 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
Israel has accepted a new US proposal announced this week to end the war that demands Hamas surrender. US President Donald Trump, who said he would temporarily oversee the governance of Gaza under the plan, has given Hamas a few days to respond and warned Hamas that Israel would continue its siege of Gaza if the group refused.
