Greta Thunberg and 160 Gaza Aid Activists Deported to Greece Following Flotilla Interception

Greta Thunberg and 160 fellow activists arrived at Athens International Airport on Monday after being expelled from Israel following their attempt to deliver aid to Gaza.

The 22-year-old Swedish climate campaigner was among hundreds who had joined a flotilla attempting to breach Israel's blockade of the war-affected territory. Upon their return to Europe, many reported mistreatment by Israeli authorities.

A welcoming crowd of supporters greeted Thunberg and the other 160 activists upon their arrival in Greece.

Thunberg described the Global Sumud Flotilla as "the biggest ever attempt to break Israel's illegal and inhumane siege by sea." She expressed dismay that such a mission was necessary, urging international action to prevent what she called Israel's "genocide" of Palestinians.

"We are not even seeing the bare minimum from our governments," Thunberg stated.

At the airport, activists displayed a large Palestinian flag in the arrivals hall while chanting "Freedom for Palestine" and "Long live the flotilla!"

Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament who was among those deported, told AFP she was physically assaulted by Israeli police after the flotilla's interception. "I was beaten by two police officers when they put me in the van," she said.

Hassan reported that detainees were held in crowded cells with up to 15 people sharing mattresses in a high-security Israeli prison.

Yasmin Acar, a member of the flotilla's steering committee, claimed the activists were "treated like animals" and "terrorists." She detailed their experience: "We were physically assaulted, we were deprived of sleep. We did not have any clean water. The first 48 hours, there was no food, no water at all."

Israeli authorities have denied these allegations of mistreatment.

The Greek foreign ministry confirmed that the "special repatriation flight" carried 27 Greek nationals and 134 individuals from 15 other European countries.

Israel's foreign ministry reported deporting a total of 171 activists to Greece and Slovakia. The Slovakian foreign ministry verified that one Slovak citizen had returned to the country, along with nine others from the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States.

The flotilla had departed from Barcelona, Spain in early September before being intercepted by the Israeli navy off Egypt's coast last week.

Israel has characterized the flotilla as an extension of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist organization it is fighting in Gaza. Israeli authorities stated that the boats entered a prohibited zone and contained minimal humanitarian aid.

According to Israeli police, over 470 people aboard the flotilla vessels were arrested. Israel's foreign ministry informed AFP that 138 flotilla participants remained in detention in Israel.