Greta Thunberg deported to Greece as Israel expels 171 Gaza flotilla activists in latest move

Israel on Monday deported 171 more activists who were detained while participating in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, including prominent Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

Thunberg, who was flown to Greece, was one of about 450 activists detained by Israel when its forces intercepted the flotilla last week.

“171 additional provocateurs from the Hamas–Sumud flotilla, including Greta Thunberg, were deported today from Israel to Greece and Slovakia,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on X.

171 additional provocateurs from the Hamas–Sumud flotilla, including Greta Thunberg, were deported today from Israel to Greece and Slovakia.

The deportees are citizens of Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland,… pic.twitter.com/DqcGLOJov7

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 6, 2025

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The ministry said the deported individuals held citizenship from multiple countries, including Greece, Italy, France, and the United States.

According to the ministry, Thunberg and 170 members of the Global Sumud flotilla took off from Ramon International Airport in southern Israel en route to Greece and Slovakia.

Photos shared by the ministry show Thunberg and other deportees making their way through the airport in gray sweatsuits and white t-shirts.

On Sunday, Israel deported 29 activists who had been detained by its navy last week, bringing the total number of deportees to 170 at the time. With an additional 171 activists flown to Greece and Slovakia on Monday, the total number of Sumud flotilla participants deported now stands at 341, leaving 138 still in Israeli custody.

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The  flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the territory where Israel has been waging an offensive since Hamas’ October 2023 attack. Israel says that the blockade is legal and has called the  flotilla  a provocation.

Israeli authorities have come under criticism from human rights groups and some governments over the handling of the detainees, including allegations that some were denied access to legal counsel. The Foreign Ministry has rejected those claims.

“All the legal rights of the participants in this PR stunt were and will continue to be fully upheld. The lies they are spreading are part of their pre-planned fake news campaign,” said the ministry.

The only violence, says the ministry on X, came from a Spanish participant who bit a medical staffer at Ketziot Prison.

Thunberg and other detainees have alleged that they were held in unlawful conditions by Israel.

Israeli officials have consistently denounced the flotilla as a political stunt orchestrated to challenge the country’s blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since 2007.

As the vessels approached, Israel offered to transfer the aid onboard to Gaza in coordination with a foreign government.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the flotilla was carrying only a “small quantity” of humanitarian supplies.

The organisers have pushed back against that narrative, calling the claims that the flotilla carried “little to no humanitarian aid” false. They argue the mission was peaceful and aimed to deliver urgently needed supplies directly to Gazans, while drawing international attention to what they describe as the humanitarian crisis under the blockade.

Meanwhile, a second flotilla — comprising 11 vessels, including one carrying medics and journalists — is reportedly en route to Gaza, raising the prospect of further tensions at sea.

With inputs from agencies