Israel deported Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, who was aboard the Gaza-bound aid vessel Madleen seized by Israeli naval forces a day earlier.
The incident highlights mounting tensions over Israel’s naval blockade and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed Thunberg’s deportation via a social media post showing the activist, who is famously opposed to air travel on environmental grounds, sitting on a plane.
She was en route to France before heading home to Sweden.
Thunberg was one of 12 passengers aboard the Madleen, an 18-meter ship launched June 1 from Catania, Italy, by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
The group’s mission was to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which has been criticized internationally as a chokehold causing severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine in the territory.
Israeli naval forces intercepted the Madleen early Monday, roughly 200 kilometers (125 miles) off Gaza’s coast, without resistance.
The coalition and human rights groups condemned the seizure as a breach of international law, arguing the ship was in international waters and headed to Palestinian territorial waters, not Israeli ones.
Israel, however, insists the blockade and interception are legal measures aimed at preventing arms smuggling to Hamas, which controls Gaza.
After the seizure, the Madleen was escorted to the Israeli port of Ashdod Monday evening.
According to Adalah, an Israeli legal rights group representing the activists, Thunberg, two other activists, and a journalist agreed to deportation and voluntarily left Israel.
The other eight activists rejected deportation orders and remain detained, with their cases scheduled for Israeli court hearings.
Sabine Haddad, spokesperson for Israel’s Interior Ministry, said those agreeing to deportation waived their right to judicial hearings, while those refusing will face court proceedings and could be held for up to 96 hours before deportation decisions.
Among the passengers was French Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan, of Palestinian descent, who has a history of being barred from Israel for her outspoken opposition to Israeli policies.
It is unclear whether Hassan will be deported immediately or detained longer.
The French Foreign Ministry confirmed one detained French activist signed an expulsion order, while five others refused, noting all have received consular visits.
Israeli officials derided the flotilla as a “selfie yacht” — a public relations stunt delivering “meager” aid equating to less than a truckload. The Israeli government dismisses the mission as symbolic rather than substantive.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry reported that Turkish citizens aboard are under close consular supervision, with embassy officials visiting detainees and keeping families informed.
The Madleen carried a diverse group of activists from Europe, Türkiye, Brazil, and Sweden, united in a peaceful stance and readiness to comply with Israeli authorities if intercepted.
Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade, citing security concerns to prevent weapons entering the enclave.
Critics argue the blockade amounts to collective punishment, devastating Gaza’s 2.3 million residents by severely restricting essential goods.
The ongoing war, sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, incursion on southern Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel, has escalated the crisis.
Israel’s military response has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, displaced nearly 90% of Gaza’s population, and left the territory reliant almost entirely on international aid.
