Greta Thunberg deported from Israel after seizure of Gaza-bound aid ship
Activist Greta Thunberg was deported from Israel Tuesday, the country's Foreign Ministry said, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military.
In a post on X, the Foreign Ministry shared a photo of Thunberg on a plane, saying she had departed Israel and was headed to France before continuing on to Sweden.
Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing Thunberg and the other activists, said Thunberg, two other activists and a journalist had agreed to be deported and leave Israel. Other activists refused deportation, were being held in detention and their case was set to be heard by Israeli authorities.
Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on board the Madleen, a boat carrying aid destined for people in war-torn Gaza.
Israeli naval forces seized the boat early Monday about 200 kilometres (125 miles) off of Gaza's coast, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group that organised the journey. The boat, accompanied by Israel's navy, arrived in the Israeli port of Ashdod Monday evening, according to Israel's Foreign Ministry.
The activists said they were protesting the ongoing war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel says such ships violate its naval blockade of Gaza.
Israel's Foreign Ministry portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying on social media that 'the 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel".
Video released Monday by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition showed the activists with their hands up as Israeli forces boarded the vessel, with one of them saying nobody was injured.
Turkey condemned the Israeli interception as a "heinous attack" and Iran denounced it as "a form of piracy" in international waters.
In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, with the activists saying they suspected an Israeli drone attack.
A 2010 Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach the naval blockade, left 10 civilians dead.
Katz on Sunday said the blockade, in place for years before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ya Libnan
3 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Growing fears of massive strikes on Iran as nuclear negotiations sputter
If the U.S.-Iranian talks fail, and strikes on Iran occur, the ramifications could be very far-reaching. U.S. President Donald Trump has been presented with a broad array of potential military options against Iran should ongoing nuclear negotiations with that country fail. Israel is already reportedly moving ever closer to at least being in a position to launch its own strikes on Iranian nuclear sites . The direct and indirect blowback from any such operations against Iran could be immense. Fears that U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks are on the verge of collapse have been steadily growing in the past week or so amid statements from both sides outlining potentially intractable positions. Iran's ability to continue domestic enrichment of nuclear material that could be used to produce nuclear weapons has emerged as a key stumbling block to reaching a deal. 'If the President directed [it], is CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command] prepared to respond with overwhelming force to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran?' Congressman Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican, asked U.S. Army Gen. Michael 'Erik' Kurilla at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee today. Kurilla is currently head of CENTCOM, making him the top officer overseeing operations across the Middle East. 'I have provided the Secretary of Defense [Pete Hegseth] and the President [Trump] a wide range of options,' Kurilla said in response. 'I take that as a yes?' Rogers, the present chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, asked in return, appearing to refer to the specific wording of his question, to include the possible use of 'overwhelming force.' 'Yes,' Kurrila said. Top U.S. military commander in the Middle East General Kurilla confirms that he has presented military options on Iran to President Trump & SecDef Hegseth in House Armed Services Committee this morning. It is important to note here that U.S. presidents and defense secretaries regularly ask to be briefed on potential military options in light of crises or heightened risks of one erupting. Being presented with a full range of operational possibilities, including large-scale strikes or other significant direct action, does not mean the United States is automatically committed to pursuing any specific course of action, something we will come back to later on. Publicly, Trump has consistently advocated for reaching a deal with Iran to avoid any need to take military action, though he has also raised the possibility of military action in the event talks reach a dead end. He has separately said that he has pressed his Israeli counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to hold off on striking Iranian targets while negotiations are ongoing. There have been reports of significant friction between the two leaders , as well. Amid all this, the U.S. president is said to be facing increasingly intense pressure from a faction of domestic political allies to acquiesce to and/or join in on Israeli attacks on Iran, according to a new report just today from Politico . TWZ
Al Manar
6 hours ago
- Al Manar
MP Raad Discusses Political Developments with Le Drian, Voices Support for UNIFIL Mandate Extension, Reconstruction Conference
Head of Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, received the French presidential envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, at the bloc's headquarters in Haret Hreik. Le Drian was accompanied by the French ambassador to Lebanon, Hervé Magro, and the meeting was also attended by Hezbollah's head of Arab and international relations, Sayyed Ammar Al-Moussawi. The meeting tackled current political developments in Lebanon, in light of the continued Israeli attacks on Lebanese sovereignty and ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement. For his part, the French envoy presented his country's efforts to organize an international conference for the reconstruction of southern Lebanon, in addition to Paris's efforts to renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). MP Raad affirmed Hezbollah's interest in discussing the reform bills before Parliament, emphasizing the Party's support for the Lebanese state's position on extending UNIFIL's mandate.
LBCI
6 hours ago
- LBCI
Gaza rescuers say 31 killed by Israel fire near aid center
The Gaza Civil Defense agency said 31 people were killed and "about 200" wounded Wednesday when Israeli troops fired on people waiting to enter a food distribution center. "We transported at least 31 martyrs and about 200 wounded as a result of an Israeli tank and drone fire on thousands of citizens... on their way to receive food from the American aid center," civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. AFP
