Climate activist Greta Thunberg was on Tuesday (June 10) deported from Israel on a flight to Sweden, via France. The Israeli Foreign Ministry shared pictures of the 22-year-old, where she can be seen sitting in an aisle seat close to the bathrooms, aboard a plane. "Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France)," said the Foreign Ministry in a post on X. Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France). pic.twitter.com/kWrI9KVoqX — Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 10, 2025 This comes after the Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound ship that was carrying humanitarian aid for the people in the besieged Palestinian enclave, and detained the group of 12 activists who were on board. Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing Thunberg and other activists, stated that some individuals, including the 22-year-old, agreed to deportation. Other activists who resisted deportation are being held in detention centres and will have their cases reviewed by Israeli authorities. A charity vessel with 12 people onboard, including the Swedish climate activist, was intercepted and seized by the Israeli naval forces and towed to the Israeli port city of Ashdod on Monday evening. Flagged by Britain and operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the yacht Madleen was destined to deliver aid to Gaza and aimed to highlight the reeling humanitarian crisis in the war-torn region. ‘We have been kidnapped’ Thunberg had earlier, in a video released by Freedom Flotilla Coalition before the vessel was captured, said, “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel.” “I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible,” she added in the video. However, US President Donald Trump rebuffed the climate activist's claims, calling her a “young, angry person”. On being asked by a reporter about Thunberg's "kidnapping" allegations during a press conference on Monday, Trump took a swipe at the 22-year-old, advising her to take "anger management classes". “She said she was kidnapped by Israel? I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg,” Trump said, dismissing the claims. “She’s a young, angry person…I don’t know if it’s real anger, it’s hard to believe, actually. But I saw what happened. I think she has to go to anger management class. That’s my primary recommendation for her,” he added. The aid boat Madleen, according to the organisers, was carrying rice and baby formula. The 12 people on board the humanitarian vessel were from Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, and Omar Faiad, a French journalist with Al Jazeera, were also aboard the ship. (With inputs from AP)
