KEY POINTS
- The deportees were sent to Greece and Slovakia, while 138 activists remain in Israeli custody.
- The flotilla of 45 vessels aimed to break Israel’s blockade and deliver aid to Gaza.
- Deported activists accused Israeli authorities of violence and mistreatment during detention.
- Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it is working to secure the safe evacuation of former senator Mushtaq Ahmad.
- The ministry expects his repatriation within the next few days with assistance from the Jordanian government.
TEL AVIV: Israel said it deported on Monday 171 activists detained aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, after intercepting the convoy in international waters last week.
The foreign ministry said in a post on X that “171 additional provocateurs from the Hamas–Sumud flotilla, including Greta Thunberg, were deported today from Israel to Greece and Slovakia”.
The foreign ministry added that the deportees were citizens of several countries, including Greece, Italy, France, and the United States. The release still leaves several foreigners in Israeli custody.
Photos shared with the post showed Thunberg alongside two other women walking through Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport wearing the grey tracksuits used in Israeli prisons.
The Israeli foreign ministry, cited by AFP, said that 138 activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla were still in Israeli custody.
The 45-vessel flotilla had been aiming to break an Israeli blockade to deliver aid to Gaza, where the United Nations says famine has taken hold after two years of devastating conflict.
Israel started intercepting the flotilla vessels in international waters on Wednesday. An Israeli official said on Thursday that boats with more than 400 people on board had been prevented from reaching the besieged Palestinian territory.
The Italian and Greek foreign ministries said their released nationals would on Monday fly from Israel to Athens. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on X that the 15 Italians would have assistance for a subsequent transfer to Italy.
I 15 italiani della Flotilla rimasti in Israele stanno decollando in questo momento alla volta di Atene per rientrare in Italia. Sono tutti in ottime condizioni fisiche. Ringrazio tutto il nostro personale per il grande lavoro di assistenza svolto, sono fiero di guidare il…
— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) October 6, 2025
France’s foreign ministry said the 28 French citizens would be flown to Greece. They accounted for most of the 30 French nationals Israel seized aboard the flotilla.
The Swedish foreign ministry did not say where the Swedes would fly to, but Swedish media said they, too, could be put on the flight to Greece.
‘Treated like animals’
International activists who arrived in Istanbul after being deported from Israel said on Saturday they had been subjected to violence and “treated like animals”.
In its post on X on Monday, Israel’s foreign ministry said that “all the legal rights of the participants in this PR stunt were and will continue to be fully upheld.”
171 additional provocateurs from the Hamas–Sumud flotilla, including Greta Thunberg, were deported today from Israel to Greece and Slovakia.
The deportees are citizens of Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland,… pic.twitter.com/DqcGLOJov7
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 6, 2025
Saverio Tommasi, a journalist for the online media site Fanpage, said he was hit in the back and on the head by his Israeli captors.
“We were treated like old monkeys in the worst circuses of the 1920s,” said Tommasi, cited by the Ansa press agency.
One of the Spaniards who returned home on Sunday, Rafael Borrego, told reporters that those detained by Israel had suffered “repeated physical and mental abuse”, including receiving blows and being forced to the ground.
Pakistan’s ex-senator’s evacuation in ‘next couple of days’
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is making “tireless efforts” to evacuate former senator Mushtaq Ahmad, who was detained by the Israeli forces in the Gaza aid flotilla interception.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, through its Embassy in Amman, is working tirelessly to secure the safe evacuation of former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan,” read the press release issued by the ministry.
The foreign ministry hoped that the process for the former lawmaker’s evacuation would be completed in the ‘next couple of days’ with the assistance of the Jordanian government.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, through its Embassy in Amman, is working tirelessly to secure the safe evacuation of former Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan. With the invaluable assistance of the Jordanian government, we are hopeful that the process can be successfully…
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) October 6, 2025
“With the invaluable assistance of the Jordanian government, we are hopeful that the process can be successfully concluded within the next couple of days,” the FO added.
“We are deeply grateful to the brotherly government of Jordan for [its] exemplary cooperation and generous support.”
Earlier on Sunday, the FO had said that Pakistan was actively engaged with international partners to ensure the safety and repatriation of its citizens.
“Through the diplomatic channels of a friendly European country, we have confirmed that former senator Mushtaq Ahmed is in the custody of the Israeli occupying forces and is safe and in good health,” read the press statement.
