Greta Thunberg Aboard Gaza-Bound Flotilla Intercepted by IDF

In the early hours of Monday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted a vessel headed toward Gaza, carrying a small quantity of humanitarian supplies and a group of international activists — among them prominent climate advocate Greta Thunberg.

The IDF boarded the ship around 3:00 a.m., with personnel providing passengers with food and water before escorting the vessel to Israel’s Ashdod Port. Authorities stated that the activists would be returned to their home countries. Pictures were later circulated of Thunberg aboard a flight to Paris.

On Tuesday, Israeli authorities confirmed the deportation of Thunberg and three other activists. The group was transported to Ben Gurion Airport after refusing to abandon the protest action. Eight additional participants, including French Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan, declined to board outbound flights and remain in custody. Authorities say they will be transferred to the Givon detention facility if they do not voluntarily depart.

Upon their arrival in Ashdod, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instructed officials to screen a 47-minute compilation of raw footage from the October 7 Hamas-led massacre. The video — captured by Hamas fighters using body cameras and GoPros — depicts graphic scenes from the coordinated terror attack and has previously only been shown to a limited audience of diplomats, lawmakers, and journalists. The goal, according to officials, was to expose the activists to the nature of the group they were perceived to be supporting.

In a follow-up statement on Tuesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said several activists stopped watching shortly after the footage began. Authorities have offered the detained activists a choice: sign a voluntary departure form or face formal arrest proceedings after a 96-hour holding period. Israeli officials say the deportation process is being conducted under standard legal protocols.

Though no passengers were physically harmed during the interception, the operation drew condemnation from the Hamas organization, which labeled the Israeli action “state terrorism” and praised the flotilla’s participants. Thunberg and her companions later claimed they were detained against their will, a statement that sparked backlash from Israeli commentators, particularly as dozens of Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity with limited international attention.

Separately, the IDF revealed on Saturday that the body of Nattapong Pinta, a Thai national kidnapped during the October 7 attack, was located and retrieved during a special operation in Rafah. Pinta, who moved to Israel in 2022 to work at Kibbutz Nir Oz, was among 12 Thai workers abducted that day. He was the father of a 9-year-old boy and had come to Israel to support his family back home in northern Thailand.

After more than 600 days in captivity, Pinta’s remains were recovered by IDF and Shin Bet operatives. Israeli officials report that 55 hostages are still being held inside Gaza.