Thunberg told a news conference in Stockholm that she and others were „kidnapped and tortured“ by the Israeli military.
She declined to elaborate, adding when pressed that she didn‘t get clean water and that other detainees were deprived of critical medication.
Israel‘s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment but has repeatedly denied mistreating the detainees.
“I could talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment. Trust me, but that is not the story,” Thunberg said during a press conference at Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Greece, where she and other flotilla participants released by Israel were greeted by a cheering crowd.
“What happened here is that Israel, while continuing to worsen and escalate their genocide and mass destruction with genocidal intent, attempting to erase an entire population, an entire nation in front of our very eyes, they once again violated international law by preventing humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza while people are being starved,” she continued.
“This genocide and other genocides are being enabled and fueled by our own governments, our institutions, our media, and companies. It is our responsibility to end that complicity… to use our privileges, our platforms, to take a stance against this, that is in every way unjustifiable,” Thunberg asserted.
“I will never, ever comprehend how humans can be so evil that you would deliberately starve millions of people living trapped under an illegal siege as a continuation of decades and decades of suffocating oppression, apartheid, occupation,” she added.
Streamed live 11 hours ago #GretaThunberg #GazaFlotilla #AthensArrival
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, along with 27 Greek nationals and over 70 international deportees from the intercepted Global Sumud Flotilla, arrives in Athens on a special flight from Israel. Detained during the humanitarian aid mission to Gaza, they return amid global outcry over the blockade and mistreatment allegations. DRM News provides live coverage of the airport arrival, statements, and reactions to the ongoing crisis.
Saverio Tommasi , journalist for Fanpage: „We were kidnapped by an armed gang in international waters. They took away everyone‘s medicine: heart patients, asthmatics, and an 86-year-old man whose asthma canister was taken away . He felt ill, as did the other people. And despite requests, banging loudly on the cells, a doctor was never sent. The water was from the bathroom tap, warm and rancid. The food was scarce .“
„Personally,“ Tommasi adds, „they literally took my wedding rings away from me: I had to argue with the judge, and only thanks to that was they returned to me when I arrived in Istanbul by plane. I imagine the aid will all have sunk along with the boats.“
Greta Thumberg? „We saw her inside and also at the port: her arms were tied and an Israeli flag was nearby, mocking her, like the verbal and psychological abuse they always used, to ridicule, belittle, and laugh at times when there was nothing to laugh about.“
Thunberg herself remains in Israeli custody.
Two of them, Hazwani Helmi, a Malaysian citizen, and Windfield Beaver, an American citizen, told Reuters at the airport that they had witnessed Thunberg being mistreated, saying she was shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag.
„It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,“ said Helmi, 28, adding that detainees were not provided with clean food or water and that medication and belongings were confiscated.
(video)
The allegation was corroborated by at least two other members of the flotilla who had been detained by Israeli forces and released on Saturday.
“They dragged little Greta [Thunberg] by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others,” the Turkish activist ErsinÇelik, a participant in the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu news agency.
Lorenzo D’Agostino, a journalist and another flotilla participant, said after returning to Istanbul that Thunberg was “wrapped in the Israeli flag and paraded like a trophy” – a scene described with disbelief and anger by those who witnessed it.
Greta Thunberg has been detained after the Israeli military (IDF) intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla as it approached the Gaza strip on Wednesday evening.
The IDF said in a statement that the flotilla had been „safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port.“
As the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) nears the Gaza coastline, Al Jazeera takes a look at some of the past flotillas.
The Madleen
The Madleen was launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) on June 9, 2025.
Among the activists on board were Sweden’s Greta Thunberg, Brazil’s Thiago Avila and French MEP Rima Hassan.
All three are also on board this current GSF.
The Madleen was intercepted by the Israeli military about 185km (100 nautical miles) from Gaza, in international waters.
After the interception, activists on the boat were detained by Israel. Some were instantly deported, while others were held in detention before their deportation.
(video)
Streamed live 9 hours ago
Barcelona, Spain – The Global Sumud Flotilla is launching from Barcelona, with international activists, artists and human rights advocates taking part in a symbolic journey to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
Speakers at the event include Greta Thunberg, Saif Abukeshek, Thiago Ávila, and actors Liam Cunningham and Eduard Fernández. The flotilla, named after the Arabic word sumud (steadfastness), sets sail as part of a broader call for solidarity with Palestinians under siege.
(June 10, 2025)
Activist Greta Thunberg arrived in Paris after being deported from Israel on Tuesday and called for more actions to support aid efforts for Gaza. Speaking upon arrival at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Freedom Flotilla.
A total of 12 people were on board the Madleen, including 11 activists and one journalist. Among them are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, Yasemin Acar from Germany, Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi and Reva Viard from France, Thiago Avila from Brazil, Suayb Ordu from Turkey, Sergio Toribio from Spain, Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.
Adalah demands the immediate disclosure of the activists’ location and legal status, and their access to legal counsel to enable legal representation before Israeli authorities and tribunals. Adalah will pursue legal actions to secure the activists’ safety and release.
„According to the Israeli Immigration Authority, they are not in its custody,“ press officer Hay Sha Wiya said, adding that rights group Adalah has repeatedly contacted Israeli military officials but has yet to receive any response to its inquiries or letters since the early hours of the morning.
SOS! The volunteers on ‚Madleen‘ have been taken illegally against their will by Israeli forces. Pressure their foreign ministries and help us keep them safe!
FR:
E: alertes.cdc(at)diplomatie.gouv.fr & courrier.scec(at)diplomatie.gouv.fr
X : (at)FranceDiplo_EN & (at)francediplo & (at)jnbarot
FB : (at)France Diplomatie & (at)Jean-Noël Barot
IG : (at)francediplo & (at)jeannoelbarot
SP:
E: consular(at)maec.es
X (at)SpainMFA & (at)MAECgob
IG : (at)exteriores.maec
GE:
W: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/vi…
IG : (at)auswaertigesamt
FB : (at)Auswärtiges Amt
X : GermanyDiplo
BR:
Email : portal(at)itamaraty.gov.br
X : ItamaratyGovBr
IG : (at)itamaratygovbr
FB : (at)Ministerio das relacoes exteriroes
SW:
Web: https://www.government.se/contacts/
X : (at)SweMFA
FB : (at)SweMFA
IG : swedishmfa
TUR
X : (at)MFATurkiye
IG : (at)tcdisisleri
FB : (at)T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı
NED
X : (at)DutchMFA
IG : (at)minbz
FB : (at)ministeriebz
„I have instructed the military to prevent the Madleen flotilla from reaching Gaza,“ Israel Katz said in a statement from his office.
„To Greta the antisemite and her companions, Hamas propaganda mouthpieces, I say clearly: turn back because you will not reach Gaza,“ Katz said.
Greta, it’s really something to see you on that ship right now. Can you tell us why you’re taking this journey, extremely dangerous, and how you’re planning to challenge the Israeli blockade?
GRETA THUNBERG: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, as you said, we are doing this mission following one month after our last attempt. Boat Conscience was bombed and disabled. So, that’s why we are trying again, because we cannot afford to give up. There is simply too much at stake. And in times of injustice, as we are seeing now the genocide and blockade happening, we have to do everything we can to demand an end to these atrocities and war crimes committed by Israel.
And for me personally, I happen to have a platform for some reason, and then it is my moral obligation to use that platform. And if my presence on this boat can make a difference, if that can show in any way that the world has not forgotten about Palestine, and to try once again to attempt to break the siege and open up a humanitarian corridor and deliver the extremely needed humanitarian aid, then that is a risk I am willing to take.
And it’s something that we just simply have to do. We cannot just sit, sit around and do nothing and watch this like live-streamed genocide unfold in front of our very eyes. So we are doing this because we are human beings who care about justice. And when our complicit governments fail to step up, it falls on us, unfortunately, to do so.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Greta, could you talk about how you see the issue of Palestinian freedom connecting to or intersecting with the issue that you’re best known for, which is climate change activism?
GRETA THUNBERG: Yeah. For me, there is no way of distinguishing the two. We cannot have climate justice without social justice. The reason why I am a climate activist is not because I want to protect trees. I’m a climate activist because I care about human and planetary well-being, and those are extremely interlinked. For example, when we see the genocide in Gaza, of course, there are some very obvious links, that ecocide, environmental destruction is a very common method used in war and to oppress people.