Israel stopped a convoy of climate activist Greta Thunberg’s aid vessels headed to Gaza that were attempting to break the country’s blockade of the strip.
Thunberg had livestreamed her journey on social media and prepared for contact with the Israeli military. Israel deported Thunberg in June when she tried to enter Gaza on a different aid boat.
Recommended Stories
- Syrian fragmentation fears abound as militia, religious minorities seek autonomy
- Trump grants major security guarantees to Qatar after Israeli strike
- Gen Z social media revolutions overturning governments in Asia and Africa
“Already several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port. Greta and her friends are safe and healthy,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote in an X post.
Already several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 1, 2025
Greta and her friends are safe and healthy. pic.twitter.com/PA1ezier9s
Organizers of the flotilla accused Israel of “illegally” intercepting their boats.
“Israeli naval forces illegally intercepted and boarded the Global Sumud Flotilla’s vessel Sirius along with other boats in international waters,” organizers said in a post on the flotilla’s official Instagram account.
“This is an illegal attack on unarmed humanitarians,” it said.
The convoy of boats is a part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which describes itself as a “coordinated, nonviolent fleet of mostly small vessels sailing from ports across the Mediterranean to break the Israeli occupation’s illegal siege on Gaza.”
“Each boat represents a community and a refusal to stay silent in the face of genocide,” the flotilla’s website states.
Thunberg’s boat convoy is seized as controversy continues around the war in Gaza. Israel has been accused of mishandling aid to Gazans and starving the population. President Donald Trump said in June he believed some of the children in Gaza were starving.
“Some of those kids are — that’s real starvation stuff. I see it, and you can’t fake that. So we’re going to be even more involved,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had just denied that there was any starvation in Gaza at the time.
At the U.N. General Assembly, several countries protested Israel’s actions in Gaza and called for an end to the war. Many countries have also moved toward recognizing a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu, at the same meeting, said it would be “suicide” to recognize Palestinian independence and said he would “finish the job” against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
GRETA THUNBERG DEPORTED FROM ISRAEL AFTER GAZA AID SHIP SEIZED
The mounting pressure on Israel resulted in Trump recently putting forward a 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. He said the war was “beyond very close” to ending.
Hamas will have to sign off on the plan, which would allow humanitarian aid into the country and bring the war to a conclusion.