The Guardian June 10, 2025
Israel preparing to deport Gaza aid boat activists, including Greta Thunberg

The passengers from the Madleen were intercepted by Israeli forces on Monday and towed to the port of Ashdod.

Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists whose Gaza-bound aid ship was intercepted by Israeli naval forces have been taken to a Tel Aviv airport for deportation, Israel said on Tuesday.

The activist group departed Italy on 1 June aboard the Madleen carrying a symbolic amount of food and supplies for Gaza, whose entire population the U.N. has warned is at risk of famine. Israeli forces intercepted the boat in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod.

The Israeli foreign ministry said on X
“The passengers of the ‘Selfie Yacht’ arrived at Ben Gurion airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries,”
“Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority.”

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the group operating the Madleen, said all 12 campaigners were “being processed and transferred into the custody of Israeli authorities”. “They may be permitted to fly out of Tel Aviv as early as tonight,” it said on social media.

a presidential official said French president Emmanuel Macron requested that the six French nationals aboard the boat “be allowed to return to France as soon as possible”, Your wish Israel command

Adalah, an Israeli NGO offering legal support for the country’s Arab minority, said the activists on board the Madleen had requested its services, and that the group was likely to be taken to a detention centre before being deported.

Turkey condemned the interception as a “heinous attack” and Iran denounced it as “a form of piracy” in international waters. “heinous act” Turkish opposition leader imprisoned indefinitely