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Israel deported 171 people including Greta Thunberg from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Greece and Slovakia after detaining them en route to Gaza, amid allegations of mistreatment
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg at an unknown location after the Israeli interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla. (Reuters)
Israel on Monday said it has deported 171 people, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who were detained last week from an international flotilla en route to deliver aid to Gaza, to Greece and Slovakia.
According to Reuters, Monday’s expulsions brought the total number deported to 341, from 479 detained.
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The deportees are citizens of Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway, the UK, Serbia, and the United States, the foreign ministry said.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail last month seeking to ferry aid to war-battered Gaza, but Israel blocked the boats and detained more than 400 people, prompting worldwide protests. At least 137 of them flew into Istanbul on Saturday, 36 of them being Turkish nationals.
An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson said Thunberg has boarded a plane at Ramon International Airport.
The foreign ministry issued a statement along with photos of Thunberg at the airport, stating that all participants’ legal rights were upheld and the only violence involved an activist biting a female medic at Israel’s Ketziot prison.
This comes after the Swiss and Spanish activists from the flotilla accused Israel of being subjected to inhumane conditions during their detention.
Some of the activists alleged sleep deprivation, lack of water and food, as well as some being beaten, kicked, and locked in a cage, the group representing them said in a statement.
“They beat us, dragged us along the ground, blindfolded us, tied our hands and feet, put us in cages and insulted us,” lawyer Rafael Borrego told reporters at Madrid’s airport.
Greta Thunberg a su llegada al aeropuerto de Atenas: “Podría hablar mucho tiempo sobre abusos que hemos sufrido en prisión. Créanme, pero esa no es la cuestión. Lo que pasa ahora mismo es que Israel sigue intensificando el genocidio y la destrucción masiva al pueblo palestino”. pic.twitter.com/RpIsUx3Oxm— Fonsi Loaiza (@FonsiLoaiza) October 6, 2025
Reuters quoted the Swedish activists as saying that Thunberg was shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag during her detention, while others said they had clean food and water withheld and had their medication and belongings confiscated. The foreign ministry has rejected the allegations.
Reuters quoted a spokesperson as saying that all detainees were given access to water, food, and restrooms, adding: “they were not denied access to legal counsel and all their legal rights were fully upheld”.
On Sunday, the Swiss Embassy in Tel Aviv visited 10 Swiss nationals and said all were “in relatively good health, given the circumstances.”
Israel
October 06, 2025, 23:03 IST
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