Greta Thunberg and activists aboard flotilla to Gaza intercepted by Israel are 'safe, in good health'
Greta Thunberg and a group of activists who were sailing in a flotilla to Gaza have been intercepted by Israel, according to the country’s foreign ministry.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is made up of dozens of vessels carrying a group of activists and humanitarian aid. As of Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time, only one vessel remains and “if it approaches, its attempt to enter an active combat zone and breach the blockade will also be prevented,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in a post on X.
In a news release, the flotilla group said an estimated 443 volunteers were taken from their vessels. It called the move an “unlawful abduction” by Israel.
On Wednesday afternoon, the ministry said several vessels “have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port. Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”
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. pic.twitter.com/PA1ezier9s
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 1, 2025
The group is being taken to Israel, where the deportation process to Europe would begin, another post by Israel’s foreign ministry said on X on Thursday. In an Instagram post, an account for the flotilla said their “resolve is only strengthened” after being intercepted.
The flotilla was heading to Gaza in an effort to break what it calls “Israel’s illegal siege.” Israel has made it clear that it would not allow the flotilla to “enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade,” according to Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar.
While the group says their goal is to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, the foreign ministry says the activists are “not interested in aid, but in provocation.”
“Israel, Italy, Greece, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem have all offered and continue to offer the flotilla a way to peacefully deliver any aid they might have to Gaza,” said the foreign ministry on X, but the flotilla refused.
Before intercepting the flotilla, the Israeli Navy asked them to change course and later informed them that they were “approaching an active combat zone and violating a lawful naval blockade.”
Earlier this week, documents found in Gaza indicated that Hamas was backing the flotilla, Israel’s foreign ministry said.
The documents “show a direct link between the flotilla leaders and the Hamas terrorist organization,” the ministry said in a news release .
Israel alleges that a wing of the Hamas movement, the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), which is subordinate to the main terrorist organization, has played a role in coordinating the flotilla.
Members of the PCPA include “high-ranking well-known Hamas operatives,” the ministry said, some of which are flotilla leaders. That includes the head of the PCPA’s Hamas sector in the United Kingdom and an operative from Spain, both named in documents discovered by Israel.
Dozens of ships that are part of the flotilla are owned by the CEO of a Spanish front company called Cyber Neptune. The CEO is a “Hamas-aligned PCPA operative,” the ministry said. “Thus, these ships are secretly owned by Hamas.”
A spokesperson for the flotilla, Maria Elena Delia, told Italian news agency Ansa that the Israeli findings were “propaganda” and dismissed the claims. She said the documents should be handed over for independent verification.
The PCPA was deemed a terrorist organization by Israel in 2021 due to its connection to Hamas. According to the foreign ministry, it “operates under the pretense of civilian cover and is responsible, on behalf of Hamas, for mobilizing actions against Israel, including violent demonstrations, marches against Israel, and demonstration and provocation flotillas.”
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