Deported Gaza Aid Activists, Including Greta Thunberg, Arrive in Greece After Israeli Interception

ATHENS: Dozens of activists from a Gaza aid flotilla, including prominent Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, landed in Athens on Monday after being detained and expelled by Israeli authorities. The group was part of a high-profile attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade and deliver humanitarian supplies to the war-devastated Palestinian territory.

Greece’s foreign ministry confirmed that 161 nationals from 16 European countries arrived on a special repatriation flight. The group included 27 Greek citizens who had participated in the “Global Sumud Flotilla.”

“This flight also facilitated the return of 134 nationals from 15 other European countries,” the ministry stated, without providing a detailed breakdown of the nationalities.

The arrival in Athens was marked by emotional scenes. In the arrivals hall of Athens International Airport, activists unfurled a massive Palestinian flag and chanted slogans including “Freedom for Palestine” and “Long live the flotilla!,” according to AFP reporters on the scene.

A Mission Met with Force

The Global Sumud flotilla, a coalition of pro-Palestinian activist groups, set sail from Barcelona, Spain, in early September. The convoy of 45 vessels aimed to draw international attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and challenge the long-standing Israeli blockade.

Their mission was cut short between October 1 and 3, when Israeli naval vessels intercepted the flotilla in international waters off the coast of Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military stated that the boats were entering a prohibited maritime zone and that the boarding was conducted after repeated warnings were ignored.

The ships were then forcibly escorted to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Israeli police reported that more than 470 people aboard the flotilla were arrested for violating the naval blockade.

Conflicting Narratives

The incident has sparked conflicting accounts from the involved parties.

Israeli authorities defended their actions, claiming the flotilla was a “provocation” and an offshoot of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement it has been at war with in Gaza for the past two years. They asserted that a search of the vessels revealed no humanitarian aid, suggesting the primary goal was political agitation.

“This flotilla was not about providing humanitarian aid. It was about supporting a terrorist organization that seeks to destroy the State of Israel,” an Israeli official said.

Activists and flotilla organizers have vehemently rejected these claims. They insist their mission was purely humanitarian, carrying vital supplies to a population where the United Nations warns a full-blown famine has taken hold after two years of devastating conflict.

“The only ‘provocation’ is the ongoing starvation of children in Gaza,” said a spokesperson for the Freedom Flotilla Alliance in a statement. “Israel’s violent interception of unarmed civilian vessels in international waters is a violation of international law. Their claim that we had no aid is absurd; they seized it all.”

Ongoing Detentions and International Reaction

According to the Greek foreign ministry, the repatriation flight represents only a portion of those detained. As of Monday, 138 flotilla participants remain in custody in Israel, with their deportation processes ongoing.

The Swedish branch of the Global Movement for Gaza confirmed that their deported nationals, including Greta Thunberg, were on the flight to Athens. Thunberg’s participation had brought significant global media attention to the flotilla’s mission.

The interception has drawn criticism from various human rights groups and calls for an independent investigation from several European governments. The incident echoes a deadly 2010 flotilla raid by Israeli commandos that resulted in the deaths of ten activists, severely straining Israel’s relations with Turkey.

The latest confrontation underscores the intractable tensions surrounding the Gaza blockade and the desperate humanitarian situation within the strip, as international efforts to broker a lasting ceasefire and facilitate large-scale aid delivery continue to falter.

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