Tel Aviv on Tuesday deported Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, but retained few other members of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, who had attempted travelling to Gaza in a ship (the Madleen) seized by the Israeli military.
Thunberg was put on a flight to Sweden (via France), according to an X post from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France). pic.twitter.com/kWrI9KVoqX
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 10, 2025
At the Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport, she explained that Israel's act of “kidnapping” a ship that simply meant to provide aid to Gaza was “yet another intentional violation of rights ... [among] countless other violations that Israel is committing”.
This comes amid America's decision to no longer wholeheartedly endorse an independent state for Palestinians, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, told Bloomberg News in an interview on Tuesday, as per a Guardian report.
Israel, however, justified its actions by saying the the seizure was a part of its lawful naval blockade of Gaza, an Associated Press report said.
What complicates the situation is the fact that Madleen crew members, although currently detained, were not attacked by Israel's naval forces: they were peacefully re-routed to Israel without incident, by the Coalition's own admission, the report added.
She added that that her own experience paled in comparison to “what the Palestinians are going through”, calling for the release of the remaining Madleen crew members from the “chaotic and uncertain” detention they were in.
She clarified that the remaining crew members—eight people, as the Coalition claims—would try to get the aid to Gaza, a task that she admitted was quite difficult, because they were detained separately, with a few facing problems in obtaining legal support.
💥Freedom Flotilla Coalition Update💥
— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) June 10, 2025
The #FreedomFlotillaCoalition confirms that 4 of the 12 abducted from international waters have been deported, while 8 remain unjustly detained. Israel is handling the custody of all 12 as though they had entered illegally—even though they… pic.twitter.com/8HfViRu0ny
When asked why she had not chosen to stay back with the remaining five crew members, she questioned the need to do so: “Why would I want to stay in an Israeli prison more than necessary?”
Her decision to leave follows the Coalition's idea of having a few of the crew members voluntarily accept deportation, in order to speak out about their experiences and garner public sympathy and recognition for Palestine, which she said was the “very, very, very minimum” that world governments could do.
Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing 7 out of the 8 detained activists, stated that the activists were expected to be brought before a tribunal later on Tuesday.
