Why was Greta Thunberg detained from Gaza-bound aid flotilla

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was detained by the Israeli forces while she, along with several others, on board a flotilla sailing towards Gaza were intercepted as they approached the besieged Palestinian territory.

A screengrab from a video shows Swedish activist Greta Thunberg sitting next to a person wearing tactical gear, as vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla are being intercepted by Israeli security forces, October 1, 2025. (via REUTERS)
A screengrab from a video shows Swedish activist Greta Thunberg sitting next to a person wearing tactical gear, as vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla are being intercepted by Israeli security forces, October 1, 2025. (via REUTERS)

The Israeli authorities said that the activists on board the boats, including Greta Thunberg, were safe and being transferred to Israel.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry also posted a video on X showing Thunberg sitting on a ship’s deck being handed a water bottle and raincoat.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, composed of around 50 boats and 500 activists, was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. The flotilla, carrying medicine and food to Gaza, was carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists. However, several boats, including the Sirius, Alma and Adara, were intercepted before they reached the coast of Gaza.

Also Read: Gaza peace plan: Arab, Muslim leaders pushing Hamas to accept Trump’s deal as deadline looms

Why was Greta Thunberg detained?

Greta Thunberg, along with several other activists, including Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau and several European lawmakers, were travelling in the flotilla on a mission to break the Israeli blockade and bring aid to famine-stricken Gaza.

In a video statement, Thunberg said she was on board in one of the ships on a peaceful humanitarian mission “to deliver aid to the civilian population in Gaza and to break Israel’s illegal and inhumane siege.”

“It is likely to believe that we will be intercepted tonight by Israel which would be a blatant violation of humanitarian and maritime law,” she added.

The flotilla’s organisers denounced the Israeli raid as a “war crime”. They said the military used aggressive tactics, including the use of water cannon, but that no one was harmed.

Israel calls flotilla ‘provocation’, ‘stunt’

Israeli forces boarded boats with the activists and took them to an Israeli port.

“Several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port,” the Israeli foreign ministry said, adding “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”

Israeli officials have called the mission “a stunt”, with an Israeli envoy calling the objective of flotilla “not humanitarian, but provocative”.

Also Read: Israel diverts Gaza aid flotilla, says Greta Thunberg ‘safe and healthy’

“This systematic refusal (to hand over the aid) demonstrates that the objective is not humanitarian, but provocative,” Jonathan Peled, the Israeli ambassador to Italy, said in a post on X.

In an earlier statement, the Israeli foreign minister said that the sole purpose of the flotilla was “provocation”.

“Israel, Italy, Greece, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem have all offered and continue to offer the flotilla a way to peacefully deliver any aid they might have to Gaza. The flotilla refused because they are not interested in aid, but in provocation,” the foreign ministry said, adding that the Israeli Navy had reached out to the flotilla and asked them to change course.

The flotilla was the latest sea-borne attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which continues amid Israeli military campaign against Hamas. The flotilla was expected to reach Gaza on Thursday morning if it was not intercepted.

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