Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has been deported by Israel after her attempt to break the blockade on Gaza, via a freedom flotilla, was halted.
The country’s foreign ministry shared a photo of Thunberg on a plane, saying she was headed for France, as well as posting a video on social media site X and carried first by UK newspaper Metro.
Other activists who were on the aid ship which was intercepted by Israeli naval forces are also in the process of deportation.
The ship, which left from Sicily on June 1, was carrying humanitarian aid for starving Palestinians who have been under a strict Israeli blockade since March 2. The blockade was only partially eased last month amid growing international pressure
Israeli forces intercepted the boat in international waters on Monday June 9th, and towed it to the port of Ashdod.
Pictures released earlier by the group showed the activists with their hands up as Israeli forces boarded the vessel, with one of them saying nobody was injured.
French president Emmanuel Macron requested that the six French nationals aboard the boat ‘be allowed to return to France as soon as possible’, a presidential official said.
Cultural Support
The actions of the campaigners has received support from several musicians across the globe.
Rock band Garbage reshared a post that called for ‘the release of all involved immediately,’ before posting an update with the caption: ‘All eyes on the @gazafreedomflotilla. Let aid in. What is happening to the Palestinians is monstrous. How many more dead children do we have to see before the world acts?!?’
Singer-songwriter Cat Power shared an update on Instagram pushing for the release of Thunberg and the activists. ‘We demand the immediate release of all 12 hostages taken by Israel in violation of international law,’ the singer shared in the caption, before listing out the names of those who were onboard the Madleen.
Irish rap group Kneecap shared an earlier update that said: ‘Solidarity with Liam Cunningham (Game Of Thrones actor who supports the flotilla and was there to well wish as they left Italy) and all on the “freedom flotilla” to Gaza’.
Freedom Flotillas
Since 2010, all flotillas attempting to break the Gaza blockade have been intercepted or attacked by Israel in international waters.
In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, was targeted in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, killing eleven crew members with the activists saying they suspected an Israeli drone attack.
Israel is facing mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.
In what organisers called a ‘symbolic act’, hundreds of people launched a land convoy from Tunisia with the aim of reaching Gaza.
Organisers of the nine-bus convoy say they are not bringing aid into Gaza, but rather aiming to carry out a ‘symbolic act’ by breaking the blockade on the territory. The convoy is set to pass through Libya and Egypt, although Cairo has yet to provide passage permits.
Despite an Israel-led and US-backed aid distribution initiative which started to deliver criticallly needed food items into Gaza last month, its new distribution hub disintegrated into chaos within hours of opening and has been marred by deadly shootings.
