A group of 28 French nationals who were aboard an aid flotilla to Gaza that was intercepted by Israeli forces have been deported and are expected to arrive in Greece on Monday. They are among nearly 200 activists detained by Israel.
"Our teams were able to meet all our compatriots, who are doing well,” the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Pascal Confavreux said on social media.
"They continue individual monitoring and remain in close contact with their families to report on the situation and messages conveyed by their loved ones," he added.
On Sunday, the far-left French political party La France Insoumise (LFI) said four of its elected officials who were part of the flotilla had started a hunger srike.
"We know that their detention conditions are difficult, with more than 10 people per cell," LFI MEP Manon Aubry told French broadcaster franceinfo.
Israel said it deported on Monday 171 more activists of various nationalities, who were detained while taking part in the aid flotilla bound for Gaza, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg.
Most, if not all, will be flown to Greece, where they will be able to get flights to their home countries, their respective governments said on Sunday.
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Voyage to Gaza
The Global Sumud Flotilla of around 45 vessels began its voyage to Gaza in September, with politicians and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg aiming to break Israel's siege of the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations says famine has set in.
The Israeli navy began intercepting vessels after warning the activists against entering waters it says fall under its blockade, with Thunberg's ship among those stopped from going further.
Last week, more than 30 had been intercepted or were assumed to have been intercepted, according to the flotilla's tracking system.
Flotilla spokesman Saif Abukeshek said the vessels that had not been intercepted were determined to continue.
In a statement, the flotilla organisers branded the interceptions as "illegal" since they were traversing international waters.
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'Piracy'
Hamas, whose 7 October, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza, condemned the interception of the flotilla as a "crime of piracy and maritime terrorism".
With the war in Gaza dragging on, solidarity with the Palestinians has grown globally, with activists and increasingly governments criticising Israel for its actions.
Spain and Italy, which both sent naval escorts to protect its citizens on board the flotilla, had urged the activists to halt before entering Israel's declared exclusion zone off Gaza, saying they would not be allowed to pass that mark.
After a 10-day stop in Tunisia, where organisers reported two drone attacks, the flotilla resumed its journey on 15 September.
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In Italy, which has already seen a general strike in support of the flotilla, hundreds of protesters turned out last Wednesday in Rome.
In Naples, demonstrators blocked trains at the main station for around an hour before being cleared by police.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he will expel all remaining Israeli diplomats in the country over the interception.
Turkey called the interception "an act of terrorism that constitutes the most serious violation of international law and endangers the lives of innocent civilians".
(with newswires)
