
‘Just leave her in Gaza' Israeli hostage families slam Greta Thunberg over embarrassing ‘Freedom Flotilla' stunt
GRETA Thunberg's "Freedom Flotilla" ship stunt has been slammed by the tormented families of hostages.
Anti-Israel campaigner Greta, 22, has been accused of supporting Hamas after attempting to breach the Gaza blockade.
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Israeli naval forces seized the British flagged-yacht Madleen carrying the climate activist on Monday.
Greta - who moaned she was "kidnapped" - has been blasted for her latest antic by the families of hostages who have lambasted her for wasting precious time.
She has since been pictured on a deportation flight from Israel.
One ex-government official rebuked what they branded an "insignificant episode which mostly manifested the stupidity of both sides".
Rita Lifshitz, whose in-laws were brutally kidnapped on October 7, echoed suggestions she should have been "left in Gaza".
She told The Sun: "In Sweden they said it would have been better to let her into Gaza so she couldn't come back.
"People don't believe in what she's doing and saying.
"This will just show them more that they shouldn't believe what she is saying."
Rita's father-in-law Oded was callously killed in captivity after being snatched by Hamas terrorists from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
He and wife Yocheved were among 250 taken hostage when vile Hamas thugs tore across the border - killing at random and torching homes.
Steve Brisley's sister Leanne 48, and his nieces Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, were among those cruelly murdered that day.
Greta Thunberg's Gaza 'Freedom Flotilla' boarded & seized by Israeli forces
The dad, from Bridgend, Wales, took aim at Greta's stunt for wasting time which could have been used to get the remaining hostages home.
"This isn't about politics or publicity for me," he said.
"It's about families torn apart and 55 hostages still in Gaza.
"Their loved ones wait for their return - for an embrace or a burial.
"Every moment wasted on anything else adds to the suffering on both sides."
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Efrat Machikawa, whose elderly uncle Gadi Moses was trapped in Gaza for 15 months, resonated with Steve's call.
She said: "The only comment I might have at the moment is to bring the focus on releasing all hostages and ending this terrible war, so we can all heal.
"Every day passing is a day too late for all of us in the region."
Israeli's furious government has vowed to make Greta and other activists detained watch a harrowing video of the October 7 massacre.
Haunting clips shows innocents, including children, being slaughtered by Hamas savages during the attacks.
filmed their massacre.
Hamas unleashed carnage in the Middle East after massacring more than 1,200 and abducting 251 hostages on October 7, 2023.
What happened on October 7?
ON OCTOBER 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel, marking one of the darkest days in the nation's history.
Terrorists stormed across the border from Gaza, killing over 1,200 people — most of them civilians — and kidnapping 250 others, including women, children, and the elderly.
The coordinated assault saw heavily armed fighters infiltrate Israeli towns, kibbutzim, and military bases, unleashing indiscriminate violence.
Innocent families were slaughtered in their homes, and graphic footage of the atrocities spread across social media, leaving the world in shock.
And as well as attacking people in their homes, they stormed the Nova music peace festival - killing at least 364 people there alone.
The massacre triggered a swift and massive retaliatory response from Israel, escalating into a full-scale war.
The attack not only reignited long-standing tensions in the region but also left deep scars on both sides of the conflict, setting the stage for the 16 months of devastation that followed.
Some 56 hostages remain in Gaza - 20 of whom are still believed to be alive.
Greta's bid to get into the strip with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) came after a failed attempt in May, when another of its vessels was struck by two drones in international waters off Malta.
Footage on Monday showed the Israeli Navy communicating with the Madleen over a loudspeaker, urging it to change course.
Israeli forces boarded the ship and the foreign ministry later confirmed it was "safely making its way to the shores of Israel".
All passengers were safe, unharmed and handed sandwiches and water before the vessel docked at the southern Israeli port of Ashdod.
The boat was carrying a "tiny amount of aid" on board - which will be sent to Gaza.
Greta had earlier posted on social media with a Palestine flag and wearing a keffiyeh scarf while on the journey.
US President Donald Trump commented: "She's a strange person.
"I think she needs to go to an anger management class."
Travelling alongside her was Rima Hassan, a French member of the European parliament of Palestinian descent.
She was barred from entering Israel due to her outspoken criticism of the country's policies towards Palestinians.
Organisers claimed pro-Palestinian FFC claimed the voyage was 'a non-violent, direct action to challenge Israel's illegal siege".
Israel imposed a near-total blockade on Gaza in late 2023, following Hamas's horror massacre on southern Israel on October 7.
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Daily Mirror
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Sky News hit with 1200 Ofcom complaints over presenter's controversial remark
Sky News has been hit with a whopping 1,270 Ofcom complaints over a presenter's comments about a vessel delivering aid to Gaza. On Today with Samantha Washington on June 7th, there was coverage of the Madleen vessel. The Madleen vessel was stopped before landing in Israel, with activist Greta Thunberg claiming she was "kidnapped" and calling on the Swedish government to help. The news of the vessel delivering aid was covered on Sky News over the weekend. Ofcom have now revealed that they received 1,270 complainants from viewers who alleged that a comment by the presenter misrepresented the peaceful nature of the mission. The comments were made on Today with Samantha Washington, which aired on Sky News on Saturday June 7th from 10.30am. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the organisation which was responsible for the yacht, said it was carrying humanitarian aid and said the vessel was "prepared for the possibility of an Israeli attack" and they claimed that it was "forcibly intercepted" by Israeli officials. The vessel was stopped at approximately 160 nautical miles from the Gaza coast. Defence minister Israel Katz had said that the state would "act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organisations". It had been intercepted at 5.30am local time near the Egyptian coast. Greta Thunberg said that the team was "intercepted and kidnapped in international waters" by "forces that support Israel" and urged her loved ones to "put pressure on the Swedish government" for a response. She said: "I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible." Israel Katz, Israel's Minister of Defence, said on social media that it was a "hate flotilla". He said: "I have instructed the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to act to prevent the 'Madeleine' hate flotilla from reaching the shores of Gaza - and to take whatever measures are necessary to that end." He sensationally then claimed that members of the crew were "anti-Semitic". He wrote: "To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back - because you will not reach Gaza. Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organisations – at sea, in the air, and on land." The Palestinian defence ministry said that the activists' actions were "noble" and said it "salutes the international solidarity activists aboard the ship attempting to break the siege on the Gaza Strip".


Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Greta Thunberg's own statements accusing Israel of 'illegal acts'
Greta Thunberg said last night that she was not aware that some of those involved in the 'freedom flotilla' voyage had previously shown support for Hamas and Hezbollah. 'I haven't heard about it or what this person has said,' the 22-year-old activist told Swedish media as she landed back in her home country. When asked why she did not know about the views of people she was travelling with, she said: 'Because I haven't had a phone.' She was then challenged by reporters who asked why she had not looked into the issue before she set off on the ship bound for Gaza. 'Should I ask exactly everyone what exactly they have said about everything?' she then asked curtly. 'It would take some time.' Zaher Birawi, who organised the mission on the British-flagged ship, was accused of being a 'Hamas operative' by Labour MP Christian Wakefield in 2023. Birawi, who is based in London and describes himself as a 'founding member' of the Freedom Flotilla International Coalition, has also been labelled as such by Israel. He is the head of the Europal Forum, which Israel designated as a terrorist organisation in 2021, and has previously been pictured with Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas leader who was assassinated by Israel last year. Meanwhile an activist who travelled on the Madleen aid boat, Brazilian national Thiago Avila, reportedly attended Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's funeral in Beirut last year, and wrote on social media that he was 'inspired' by the Lebanese terrorist chief. Thunberg's comments came as she landed in Sweden at around 10.30pm Tuesday night after a brief stop in France following her deportation from Israel. She was welcomed at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm by dozens of people waving Palestinian flags, who presented her with flowers and a keffiyeh scarf as they shouted 'free Palestine!' Of the 12 activists on board the Madleen, four including Thunberg agreed to be deported immediately, while all of them have been banned from Israel for 100 years, the rights group that legally represents some of them said in a statement. The remaining eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily, and brought before a detention review tribunal on Tuesday, rights group Adalah added. Thunberg yesterday vowed to return to the country despite the restrictions apparently placed on her. The group had set sail towards Gaza carrying what they called a symbolic amount of aid, before being intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Egypt early Monday. They were then taken to the port of Ashdod, where Thunberg was detained before being placed on a flight to France on Tuesday morning. Asked in Stockholm if she was scared when the security forces boarded the Madleen sailboat, Thunberg replied: 'What I'm afraid of is that people are silent during an ongoing genocide. What I feel most is concern for the continued violations of international law and war crimes that Israel is guilty of.' She accused Israel of carrying out a 'systematic genocide' and 'systematic starvation of over two million people' in Gaza. Several rights groups including Amnesty International have accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza but Israel vehemently rejects the term. 'We must act, we must demand that our government acts, and we must act ourselves when our complicit governments do not step up,' Thunberg said. She rose to fame as a schoolgirl activist against climate change and seeks to avoid flying because of its environmental impact, going so far as to cross the Atlantic by sailboat twice. Despite her swift deportation, Thunberg was unrepentant. The activist vowed that they 'would not stop' trying to help and promised that 'this is not the end.' Thunberg told journalists shortly after landing in Paris: 'What is certain is that we will not stop. We are going to continue try to do everything we can because that is the promise that we have given to to Palestinians. We are going to try every single day in every way that we can and keep trying to demand an end to the atrocities.' Earlier in the day, Thunberg accused Israel of 'kidnapping' her in international waters, a claim she made previously in a dramatic pre-recorded SOS message released shortly after her detention. But a picture of her smiling as a soldier offered her sandwich after her boat was intercepted quickly went viral. Thunberg accused Israel of orchestrating a PR stunt following the action. Speaking on Tuesday, she doubled down: 'People were not being treated well. I was not able to to say goodbye to people and I don't know what's happening. And there were many, many issues'. Pressed for details on her treatment, she described the experience as 'very dehumanising,' though she insisted: 'But of course, I have to stress nothing compared to what Palestinians are going through. I would prefer not to go into detail'. She added: 'I do know that there were major issues with people actually getting to talk to lawyers. 'When you look at the state of the world, everything feels meaningless. But unless you try to do everything you can, we lose our hope.' The activist, who has long eschewed air travel for environment reasons, was photographed on board an aircraft en route to France earlier on Tuesday - a moment that Israel's Foreign Ministry was quick to publicise, posting the image on social media platform X. Prior to her deportation, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he'd instructed IDF officials to show the activists the full, unedited footage of the October 7 attacks as recorded by Hamas terrorist body cameras. 'It is appropriate that the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas supporters see exactly who the Hamas terrorist organization they came to support and for whom they work is, what atrocities they committed against women, the elderly, and children, and against whom Israel is fighting to defend itself,' he said. Late on Monday night, he told reporters: 'Greta and her flotilla companions were taken into a room upon their arrival to the screening of the horror film of the October 7 massacre... when they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching.' 'The anti-Semitic flotilla members are turning a blind eye to the truth and have proven once again that they prefer the murderers to the murdered and continue to ignore the atrocities committed by Hamas against Jewish and Israeli women, adults, and children.' Katz and other Israeli officials have come under fire for branding Thunberg and her fellow activists 'anti-Semitic' for wanting to deliver aid to starving Gazans. But Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said: 'This wasn't humanitarian aid. It's Instagram activism... Who's really feeding Gaza and who's really feeding their own ego? Greta was not bringing aid, she was bringing herself.' Meanwhile, the French government revealed that five of the six French citizens detained alongside Thunberg had refused to sign deportation orders, meaning they will now face judicial proceedings. US President Donald Trump did not miss the opportunity to wade in on the controversy. 'I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg. She's a young, angry person... I think she has to go to an anger management class,' he said. Thunberg responded to his comments, saying: 'I think the world needs a lot of more young, angry women, to be honest, especially with everything going on right now'.


Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
Israel Knesset set to vote on disbanding in first step to possible election
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