PORT OF ASHDOD, Israel: Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists detained aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat have been taken to a Tel Aviv airport for deportation, Israel said on Tuesday (Jun 10), after their vessel was intercepted by naval forces.
The activist group departed Italy on Jun 1 aboard the Madleen carrying food and supplies for Gaza, whose entire population the UN 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 passengers of the ‘Selfie Yacht’ arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries,” the Israeli foreign ministry said on X.
“Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority.”
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the activist group operating the vessel, 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.
