June 12, 2025
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel deported activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, the country's Foreign Ministry said, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military.
Thunberg left on a flight to France and was then headed to her home country of Sweden, the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X. It posted a photo of Thunberg, a climate activist who shuns air travel, seated on a plane.
Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on the Madleen, a ship carrying aid to Gaza, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the journey.
Israeli naval forces seized the boat without incident early Monday about 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.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said three activists, including Thunberg, had been deported along with a journalist. Eight other passengers refused deportation and were being held in detention before their case is to be heard by Israeli authorities.
Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel's Interior Ministry, said the activists who were being deported Tuesday had waived their right to appear before a judge. Those who did not will face one and will be held for 96 hours before being deported, she said.
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.”
Israel said its actions were consistent with international law.
Israel viewed the ship as a publicity stunt, calling it the “selfie yacht" with a “meager” amount of aid that amounted to less than a truckload.
“This was nothing but a ridiculous gimmick. A publicity stunt and nothing more,” said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. “In any case — it is our intention to deliver to Gaza the tiny amount of aid on the yacht that they did not consume.”
Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s Palestinian population.
During the 20-month-long war in Gaza, Israel has restricted and sometimes blocked all aid into the territory, including food, fuel, and medicine. Israel says Hamas siphons off the aid to bolster its rule.
Hamas-led terrorists killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war and abducted 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to claims by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
