Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is among more than 70 foreign nationals scheduled to leave Israel on Monday after being detained aboard the intercepted Gaza aid flotilla. The detainees, representing various countries, are expected to be flown to Greece before heading to their respective homelands, officials confirmed.
The group includes 28 French citizens, 27 Greeks, 15 Italians, and nine Swedes. Twenty-one Spanish nationals were already flown back to Spain on Sunday, while 28 others remain in Israeli custody. The detainees were part of the 45-vessel Global Sumud Flotilla, which carried activists and politicians determined to challenge Israel’s blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israel intercepted the flotilla in international waters last Wednesday, stopping more than 400 passengers from reaching the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations has warned of worsening famine conditions. Israeli authorities said the detainees would be expelled in stages depending on legal and diplomatic arrangements.
The Italian and Greek foreign ministries confirmed that their nationals would travel first to Athens, with onward flights to their home countries arranged afterward. French officials said most of the 28 French detainees would also head to Greece. The Swedish foreign ministry, while not specifying final travel plans, indicated that its citizens were also likely to be placed on the same flight.
This follows the earlier release of 26 Italians on Saturday. However, another 15 Italians had refused to sign voluntary release documents, delaying their departure until judicial expulsion orders were completed. Some of the first Italians to return home reported mistreatment in Israeli custody. Journalist Saverio Tommasi described being struck by captors and said detainees were “treated like old monkeys in the worst circuses of the 1920s.”
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard confirmed that embassy officials were able to visit the detained Swedes, later receiving confirmation from Israeli authorities that their release would proceed Monday. Meanwhile, Spanish activist Rafael Borrego, one of those who returned home Sunday, alleged that detainees faced repeated “physical and mental abuse,” including being beaten and forced to the ground. The incident has drawn sharp criticism from several European governments, intensifying debate over Israel’s handling of foreign activists and the broader humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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