Israel has deported Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, following her courageous attempt to break the illegal blockaded of the Gaza Strip aboard the Freedom Flotilla, while some other activists remain detained.
The Madleen vessel was boarded by Israeli regime forces early Monday before it could reach the Gaza shore and was towed to Ashdod Port.
Activists and supporters of Greta condemned Israel over the illegal capture of the vessel, with some claiming Israel had essentially “kidnapped” the activists.
Thunberg said herself in a pre-recorded video message they had been kidnapped by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian foreign ministry has called for protection of the activists’ safety, and a UN official has asked for more ships to “sail together” to bring aid to Gaza.
“While Madleen must be released immediately, every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity, and humanity to Gaza. They shall sail together – united, they will be unstoppable,” Francesca Albanese wrote in a post on X.
She also urged the UK government to “urgently seek full clarification” and “secure the immediate release of the vessel and its crew.”
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Back in London, the pro-Palestine independent MPs sent a solidarity message while attending a protest near Downing Street.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party, said “We send them our support we send them our love and solidarity and we send them our thanks for doing all they could to send aid into Gaza.”
Adding that: “We are witnessing children being starved to death .. we are watching acts of genocide!”
According to reports four activists will be deported on Tuesday in total, while the other eight will be transferred to a detention centre due to their refusal to sign deportation documents.
The Freedom Flotilla crew
The Madleen set sail on 6 June from Sicily with the goal of reaching Gaza. But it has since been intercepted by Israeli forces, which said the yacht was “safely making its way to the shores of Israel.”
The ship has a crew of 12 people, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, and Omar Faiad, a French journalist with Al Jazeera.
The remaining members are: Yasemin Acar, Baptiste Andre, Thiago Avila, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, Suayb Ordu, Sergio Toribio, Mark van Rennes and Reva Viard.
Carrying an amount of aid, the British-flagged ship aimed to break a crippling blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza, where nearly 55,000 people have been killed in a brutal onslaught since October 2023.
Israel’s war on Gaza has been described as a genocide by human rights groups, genocide experts and many journalists.
As Israel has continued to close all Gaza’s border crossings to humanitarian aid since early March, aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among Gaza’s 2.4 million inhabitants.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.
