Israel on Monday deported 171 foreign nationals, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who were detained last week for attempting to sail humanitarian aid to Gaza.
They were flown to Greece and Slovakia.
The deportees were citizens of Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Serbia and the United States, Israel’s foreign ministry said in a social media post.
Thunberg was among dozens who landed in Athens on Monday afternoon.
Supporters gathered at the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, chanting “Free, free Palestine” as the activists disembarked, AP reported.
After arriving in Athens, the Swedish activist said, “We cannot take our eyes away from Gaza,” according to AP.
Thunberg urged world leaders and ordinary citizens to end their “complicity” with the “genocide” being carried out against Palestinians in Gaza.
Her remarks came on the eve of the second anniversary of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
On October 1, the Israeli military intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of nearly 50 boats carrying humanitarian aid sailing toward the besieged Gaza.
Lubna Tuma, a lawyer representing more than 470 Global Sumud Flotilla participants who were detained last week, said that 150 persons were still held in Israel’s Ktziot prison, including Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, AP reported.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international campaign against the blockade of the Palestinian territory had accused Israel at the time of committing “yet another breach of internal law to block those who confront the genocide in Gaza”.
The flotilla began its journey from ports in Spain and Italy in August, sailing via Greece and Tunisia.
After a two-and-a-half-month blockade aimed at pressuring Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel started allowing basic aid into Gaza in May. However, humanitarian workers have continually warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive.
Two earlier attempts by the Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza were stopped by Israeli forces in May and June.
Israel has maintained a formal naval blockade on Gaza since 2009, citing the need to prevent weapons smuggling. Authorities have also alleged links between some flotilla organisers and Hamas – a claim the activists have denied.
Israel’s current military offensive against Gaza began on October 7, 2023 after Hamas killed 1,200 persons during its incursion and took hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then,more than 67,000 persons dead.
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