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CTV News
an hour ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Activist Greta Thunberg deported by Israel after Gaza-bound ship seized
Video Israel has deported activist Greta Thunberg after a Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military.
CBS News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Israel deports activist Greta Thunberg after military seized Gaza Freedom Flotilla ship
Jerusalem — Israel deported activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, the country's Foreign Ministry said, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was on with 11 other people 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 with a mission to protest Israel's ongoing war there and shed light on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory, according to the organizers, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. 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, condemned Israel's actions as a violation of international law. Israel rejects that charge because it says such ships intend to breach what it argues is its military's lawful naval blockade of Gaza. The boat, accompanied by Israel's navy, arrived in the Israeli port of Ashdod Monday evening, according to the Foreign Ministry. Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg talks to journalists upon her arrival at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, after she was deported by Israel following her detention by Israeli forces, along with other activists who were aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat, June 10, 2025. HUGO MATHY/AFP/Getty The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said three activists, including Thunberg, had been deported along with a journalist. It said it had encouraged some of the group to do this so they could speak freely about their experiences. Eight other passengers refused deportation and were being held in detention before their case is to be heard by Israeli authorities. Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing the activists, said the eight were expected to be brought before a court later Tuesday. "Their detention is unlawful, politically motivated and a direct violation of international law," the coalition said in a statement. It called for the remaining passengers to be released without deportation and said their lawyers would demand that they be allowed to complete their journey to Gaza. 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. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was also among the passengers on board the Madleen. She has previously been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. It was not clear whether she was being immediately deported or detained. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that one of the detained French activists signed an expulsion order and will leave Israel on Tuesday for France. The other five refused. He said all the activists received consular visits. Sergio Toribio, a Spanish activist who was deported, slammed Israel's actions after he arrived in Barcelona. Spanish activist Sergio Toribio arrives in Barcelona, Spain, from Tel-Aviv, at El Prat de Llobregat airport, June 10, 2025, after being deported by Israeli authorities. Kike Rincon/Europa Press/Getty "It is unforgivable, it is a violation of our rights. It is a pirate attack in international waters," Toribio told reporters. 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." "The arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of international law," Adalah said in a statement. Amnesty International said Israel was flouting international law with the naval raid and called on the country to release the activists immediately and unconditionally. Israel said its actions were consistent with international law. Israel viewed the ship as a publicity stunt, calling it the "selfie yacht." Israeli officials said that the flotilla was bringing "meager" aid with what amounted to less than a truckload of goods. The Flotilla has made it clear that its repeated attempts to reach the Palestinian territory by sea with vessels carrying aid and activists are aimed as much at raising awareness of the Israeli blockade as they are about getting any food into the enclave. 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. Palestinians carry cans filled with water in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, June 8, 2025. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu/Getty During the 20-month-long war in Gaza sparked by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, Israel has restricted and sometimes blocked all aid into the territory, including food, fuel and medicine. Experts say that policy has pushed Gaza toward famine. Israel says Hamas siphons off the aid to bolster its rule. The Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel, and saw 251 others taken hostage into Gaza, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, but only about 20 are still believed to be alive. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said that women and children make up most of the dead. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the territory's population, with many people being forced to flee multiple times. The entire population is almost completely dependent on international aid.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Israel threatens to block Greta Thunberg's 'flotilla of freedom' Gaza cruise as videos show young activist having time of her life
Israel has threatened to block Greta Thunberg 's Freedom Flotilla from delivering aid to Gaza, it has emerged. The climate change campaigner and 11 other pro-Palestine activists set sail on Sunday afternoon for Gaza on a ship aimed at 'breaking Israel 's siege' of the devastated territory. The sailing boat Madleen, operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departed from the Sicilian port of Catania, in southern Italy and is carrying what the campaigners described as a 'symbolic' amount of aid. Videos posted to TikTok show the young activists smiling, swimming, and filming social media content as the vessel makes its journey across the Mediterranean. The Israeli Army says it is prepared to raid the ship, as it has done with previous Freedom Flotilla efforts. 'For this case as well, we are prepared,' IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said, The Times reports. 'We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly.' Thunberg had been due to board a previous Freedom Flotilla ship last month, but that attempt to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two alleged drones while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship, in the latest confrontation over efforts to send assistance to the Palestinian territory devastated by nearly 19 months of war. The Madleen is trying to reach the shores of the Gaza Strip in an effort to bring in some aid and raise 'international awareness' over the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the activists ahead of Sunday's departure. 'We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,' Thunberg said, bursting into tears during her speech. 'Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it's not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide,' she added. Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an anti-Semitic 'blood libel'. 'We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that's part of a broader strategy of mobilizations that will also attempt to break the siege by land,' echoed activist Thiago Avila. Avila cited the upcoming Global March to Gaza - an international initiative also open to doctors, lawyers and media - which is set to leave Egypt and reach the Rafah crossing in mid-June to stage a protest there, asking Israel to stop the Gaza offensive and reopen the border. In mid-May, Israel slightly eased its blockade of Gaza after nearly three months, allowing a limited amount of humanitarian aid into the territory. Experts have warned Gaza is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in. UN agencies and major aid groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. Among those joining the crew of the Madleen are Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent. Hassan has been barred from entering Israel due to her active opposition to the Israeli assault on Gaza. The activists expect to take seven days to get to their destination, if they are not stopped. The Israeli government says the ongoing blockade in Gaza is an attempt to pressure Hamas to release hostages it took during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the conflict. Hamas terrorists assaulted southern Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, 23 of whom are believed to be alive. In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Hamas-led Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Israel's bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of the territory and left most of its population homeless. The Flotilla group was only the latest among a growing number of critics to accuse Israel of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegations, saying its war is directed at Hamas, not Gaza's civilians.
