Swedish climate and human rights activist Greta Thunberg departed Israel on a flight to France on Tuesday after being detained by Israeli forces alongside other activists aboard an aid ship bound for Gaza.
“Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France),” Israel’s foreign ministry wrote in a post on X alongside two photos of the young activist aboard a plane.
Thunberg, 22, is a well-known climate activist who has long eschewed air travel, famously sailing to a climate conference in New York in 2019.
At least five of her fellow crew members who were also detained on board the Madleen aid ship Monday have refused to agree to depart voluntarily and will be deported, according to France’s Foreign Minister on Tuesday.
“Last night our consul was able to see the six French nationals who were arrested by the Israeli authorities. Their families have been contacted. One of them agreed to a voluntary departure and is expected to return today. The other five will be deported,” Jean-Noël Barrot wrote in a post on X.
One of the French nationals detained by Israel on Monday is Rima Hassan, a Member of the European Parliament.
“Over the last days and hours, the President of the European Parliament has been in constant contact with the Israeli authorities… to ensure the safety and security of the Member of the European Parliament, Rima Hassan, who was one of the people aboard the boat Madleen and all those accompanying her,” Delphine Colard, a spokesperson for the European Parliament said on Monday.
Israel’s foreign ministry had said earlier that anyone who refused to sign deportation documents and leave Israel would be brought before judicial authorities to authorize their deportation.
The detained crew of the Gaza-bound aid ship that was intercepted by Israel on Monday morning docked in the Israeli port of Ashdod Monday evening, according to Israel’s foreign ministry.
The Madleen is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an organization that has campaigned against Israel’s blockade of Gaza and tried to break the siege by boat.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said the Israeli military had “attacked” and “unlawfully boarded” the Madleen, which was attempting to deliver aid to Gaza – where more than 600 days of war, and an 11-week Israeli blockade of all aid, has pushed the enclave’s 2.1 million people deeper into a hunger crisis.
Amnesty International also condemned the detention of the activists.
“The operation of intercepting and blocking the Madleen in the middle of the night and in international waters violates international law and put the safety of those on the boat at risk,” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, said in a statement.
Israel had repeatedly vowed to stop the aid boat from reaching Gaza and described the ship as a “selfie yacht” carrying “celebrities.”
Israel imposed a full humanitarian blockade of Gaza on March 2, cutting off food, medical supplies, and other aid to the more than 2 million Palestinians who live in the territory for 11 weeks.
Faced with growing international pressure, Israel began allowing a trickle of aid in late May. But humanitarian organizations say it is only a fraction of the aid that entered the enclave before the war, and have warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis and the growing risk of widespread famine. A UN-backed report warned in late April that one in five people were facing starvation.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed over the past week while on their way to try and obtain aid from a new US-backed group commissioned to deliver aid to Gaza, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The group is intended to replace the UN-led system of distributing aid in Gaza. The United Nations has warned that the new distribution mechanism has become a “death trap” for desperate people seeking food in the strip.