Israel has deported activist Greta Thunberg, a day after the Madleen, a Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a post on X that Thunberg left on a flight to France and was then headed to her home country of Sweden.
It posted a photo of Thunberg, a climate activist who shuns air travel, seated on a plane.
“The passengers of the ‘Selfie Yacht’ arrived at Ben Gurion airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries. Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry
Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on the Madleen, a ship carrying aid to Gaza that was meant to protest Israel’s ongoing war there and shed light on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
Israeli naval forces seized the boat without incident early Monday about 200 kilometers (125 miles) off of Gaza’s coast, according to the coalition, which along with rights groups, said Israel’s actions were a violation of international law. Israel rejects that charge because it says such ships intend to breach what it argues is a lawful naval blockade of Gaza.
The boat, accompanied by Israel’s navy, arrived in the Israeli port of Ashdod Monday evening, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing the activists, said that Thunberg, two other activists and a journalist had agreed to be deported and leave Israel.
Adalah disclosed that the other eight activists refused deportation, were being held in detention and their case was set to be heard by Israeli authorities. The group added that activists were expected to be brought before a court later Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
Sabine Haddad, a Spokeswoman for Israel’s Interior Ministry, said that the activists who were being deported Tuesday had waived their right to appear before a judge.
She stated that those who did not will face one and will be held for 96 hours before being deported.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which organised the trip, said all activists were being processed by Israeli officials.
Five French Nationals Refuse Deportation
France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot said that five of the six French nationals detained refused to sign deportation documents and would now be brought before an Israeli judicial authority. “One of them has agreed to leave voluntarily and should return today,” he stated on X.
He added that the other five will be subject to forced deportation proceedings. The six include MEP Rima Hassan and Al Jazeera journalist, Omar Faiad.
On Monday, Adalah, the rights group, said that Israel had “no legal authority” to take over the ship, because the group said it was in international waters and it was headed not to Israel but to the “territorial waters of the state of Palestine.” “The arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of international law,” Adalah said in a statement.
Amnesty International also said that Israel was flouting international law with the naval raid and called on Israel to release the activists immediately and unconditionally.
Israel has said that its actions were consistent with international law.
Israel’s foreign ministry accused the campaigners of attempting a “media provocation” with minimal supplies.
“While Greta and others attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity… more than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks.”
Israel’s foreign ministry
It added that there are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip “– they do not involve Instagram selfies.”
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