Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is set to be deported from Israel on Monday, October 6, 2025, after being detained alongside dozens of other international activists for their attempt to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza with the Global Sumud Flotilla. The 22-year-old, known worldwide for her environmental advocacy, now finds herself at the center of a heated diplomatic and humanitarian controversy that has drawn in governments, rights groups, and media from around the globe.
According to YnetNews and AFP, Thunberg will depart Israel’s Ramon Airport on a Greek government-funded flight to Athens, accompanied by 27 Greek activists. They are among more than 70 detainees of various nationalities—including 28 French citizens, 15 Italians, and nine Swedes—who are being released after the flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces last week. The operation, which began on October 1, 2025, saw the Israeli navy seize 45 vessels carrying over 400 activists and politicians attempting to deliver aid to Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of an intensifying famine.
Thunberg’s experience in Israeli detention has become emblematic of the broader allegations of mistreatment voiced by flotilla participants. She was reportedly held at Ketziot prison, a facility in the Negev desert, where she complained of dehydration, lack of food, and harsh conditions including a bedbug-infested cell. According to an email from Sweden’s Foreign Ministry to Thunberg’s parents, cited by The Guardian, "She also stated that she had developed rashes, which she suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces." Thunberg also claimed she was forced to pose for photos holding flags, though it remains unclear which flags these were.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has categorically denied all allegations of mistreatment, labeling them "outrageous lies" and insisting that "all legal rights of the detainees are fully upheld." Ministry officials pointed out that Thunberg and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation, choosing instead to extend their detention. "Thunberg did not file any complaints with Israeli authorities about these absurd and baseless claims—because they never happened," the ministry asserted, as reported by YnetNews.
The dispute over the treatment of detainees has not been limited to Thunberg. Italian journalist Saverio Tommasi, who was among the first group of Italians to be deported, told Fanpage and Ansa that he was hit in the back and on the head by his Israeli captors. "We were treated like old monkeys in the worst circuses of the 1920s," Tommasi said, describing what he viewed as degrading and humiliating treatment. Spanish activist Rafael Borrego, who returned to Spain on Sunday, echoed these claims, telling reporters that detainees suffered "repeated physical and mental abuse," including being forced to the ground and subjected to blows.
Further accounts from the activist movement Global Sumud, which organized the flotilla, allege that detainees were denied access to clean water, food, necessary medication, and legal counsel. Several activists, including Finnish journalist Renaz Ebrahimi, reportedly began a hunger strike in protest of their treatment. The group also claimed that some detainees were blindfolded, handcuffed, and forced to remove religious clothing such as hijabs during searches. According to statements from Malaysian public figures Heliza Helmi and Hazwani Helmi, detainees were denied food and clean water, with some forced to drink from toilets. Heliza recounted going without food for three days.
The Israeli government, however, has consistently denied these claims. The Foreign Ministry described the allegations as "brazen lies," emphasizing that all detainees’ rights—including access to legal representation, water, food, and sanitary facilities—were upheld. Yet, in a starkly different tone, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir expressed pride in the harsh conditions at Ketziot prison. "Anyone who supports terrorism is a terrorist and deserves the conditions of terrorists," Ben-Gvir stated publicly, and was later filmed mocking activists as they were brought ashore.
Journalists and politicians among the detainees have provided additional details of their experience. Italian journalist Lorenzo D’Agostino told Associated Press that Israeli forces pointed weapons at detainees, stole their belongings, and used dogs for intimidation. "We were forced to kneel for four hours with our hands zip-tied," he said. Turkish journalist Ersin Celik reported witnessing Thunberg being dragged, wrapped in an Israeli flag, and paraded by guards—a claim corroborated by other international participants.
Despite the controversy, the process of deportation has moved forward. Most released activists are being flown to Greece, from where they will travel on to their home countries. The Italian and Greek foreign ministries have arranged for their nationals’ onward journeys, while Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares confirmed that 21 Spanish nationals returned home on Sunday, with 28 more expected to follow. Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told AFP that embassy staff had been able to visit the nine Swedes in detention and that Israeli authorities had authorized their departure.
The flotilla’s interception has sparked widespread condemnation and protests, both in Israel and abroad. The mission, launched in late August by Global Sumud, aimed to challenge the ongoing blockade of Gaza and deliver symbolic aid. Rights groups and several governments have criticized Israel’s operation, while the Israeli government maintains that the blockade is necessary to prevent arms from reaching Hamas.
The timing of the flotilla incident coincides with renewed indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, mediated in Cairo, focused on the possible release of hostages and a ceasefire plan linked to a 20-point peace proposal by US President Donald Trump. According to HT, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a televised address on October 4, 2025, that hostages would be returned "within days" and that Hamas would be disarmed either through Trump’s plan or by force. Hamas has indicated a willingness to release all hostages but has not agreed to disarm or relinquish influence in Gaza, accepting only 9 of Trump’s 20 conditions.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza remains dire. Israeli airstrikes on October 4 killed more than 70 people, according to sources in Gaza. The United Nations continues to warn of famine and deteriorating conditions for civilians. Public protests in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have intensified, with demonstrators calling for the return of hostages and an end to the conflict.
As Greta Thunberg and her fellow activists prepare to leave Israel, the events surrounding the Global Sumud Flotilla have cast a harsh spotlight on the treatment of detainees and the broader struggle over humanitarian access to Gaza. The competing narratives from activists, governments, and Israeli officials underscore the complexity—and the urgency—of addressing both the immediate human rights concerns and the larger political crisis at play.
