Greta Thunberg has been put on a plane and deported to France after her attempt to sail to Gaza and bring aid to Palestinians was unsuccessful.
The 22-year-old activist was flown to Paris, from where she will continue her journey to Sweden. Before being deported, she refused to see a disturbing video that showed the atrocities of the October 7 massacre.
On Monday, Israeli forces intercepted a charity aid vessel that tried to break a naval blockade of war-torn Gaza.
The British-flagged yacht Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.
However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the FFC said on its Telegram account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed that it was under Israeli control.
Here is all we know:
What happened?
A 12-strong crew including Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, went in a vessel to publicly try to get aid to Palestine.
The yacht was said to have been carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula. The Foreign Ministry said it would be taken to Gaza.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas.
Called the Freedom Flotilla, it was invaded by Israel military before it could make its way to Gaza.
“The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2am," Ms Hassan posted on X.
Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed it had intercepted the vessel, writing social media: “The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels,” it wrote.
In a statement, the FFC accused Israel of “forcibly intercepting” the Madleen and acting with “total impunity”.
It says that at 3.02am CET, the ship was “unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food and medical supplies—confiscated.”
“Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard the Madleen,” said Huwaida Arraf, a Freedom Flotilla organiser.
“These volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalised for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade—their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately.”
Israel continued saying “the 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” the ministry wrote on X.
What did Greta Thunberg say?
Thunberg said she joined the Madleen crew to “challenge Israel’s illegal siege and escalating war crimes” in Gaza and highlight the urgent need for humanitarian aid. She has rejected previous Israeli accusations of anti-Semitism.
She has also live blogged events on the ship, and posted videos on social media to show the goings ones they happen.
In a video the Swedish-born climate activist said the team had been "intercepted and kidnapped in international waters" by "forces that support Israel", adding: "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," she said in the video, saying they had been “kidnapped”.
Greta: “We have been kidnapped” https://t.co/zBM6vQ1q7u pic.twitter.com/W6xjTSGeYK
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 9, 2025
Who was on the boat?
As well as Greta Thunberg, activists on the boat included:
- Rima Hassan - Born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, now a member of the European Parliament
- Yasemin Acar - German activist born and raised to Kurdish parents from Turkey
- Thiago Avila - Coordinator of Freedom Flotilla Brazil and a member of the Steering Committee of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition
- Yanis Mhamdi - Journalist and director at Blast, a French independent media outlet
- Omar Faiad - al-Jazeera's Mubasher correspondent
- Sergio Toribio - from marine conservation NGO Sea Shepherd
- French doctor and activist Baptiste Andre
- Turkish activist Suayb Ordu
- Dutch engineering student Mark van Rennes
- French citizens Reva Viard and Pascal Maurieras, who have participated in other Freedom Flotilla missions before.
What next?
After the activists were captured, they were brought to the Israeli port of Ashdod, and the group were ordered to see a video of the October 7 attacks.
According to Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, the group of activists declined to watch the video.
Mr Katz said in a statement: “Greta and her flotilla companions were taken into a room upon their arrival for a screening of the horror film of the October 7 massacre, and when they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching.”
He added: “The antisemitic 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.”
Uncensored evidence of murders is shown in the 43-minute video, which is primarily composed of bodycam and phone footage captured by Hamas terrorists.
Although it hasn't been made public, Israel has showed it to journalists and at several diplomatic events in an attempt to refute denialist accounts of the tragedy.
Thunberg, two other activists, and a journalist had consented to be deported from Israel, according to Adalah, the Israeli legal rights organisation that represents the 12 Madleen passengers.
Adalah stated that Israeli authorities were planning to hear the case of other activists who resisted deportation and were being detained in custody.
Around one in the morning, the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which was in charge of the yacht, declared that the group was “expected to be moved to the Ramleh detention facility unless they agree to leave immediately.”
The rights group added: “We continue to demand the immediate release of all volunteers and the return of the stolen aid. Their detention is unlawful and a violation of international law.”
