By Quds News Network
Gaza (QNN)- Several international activists deported from the occupation state of Israel after joining a Gaza aid flotilla have revealed details about mistreatment by Israeli forces of young climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
The 137 deportees landed in Istanbul on Saturday, including 36 Turkish nationals and activists from the United States, Italy, Malaysia, Kuwait, Switzerland, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, and other countries, Turkish officials confirmed.
Turkish journalist and flotilla participant Ersin Celik told local media he witnessed Israeli forces torture Greta Thunberg. He said she was “dragged on the ground” and “forced to kiss the Israeli flag.”
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Malaysian activist Hazwani Helmi and American participant Windfield Beaver gave similar accounts at Istanbul Airport. They said Thunberg was shoved and paraded with the flag.
“It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,” Helmi said. Detainees were denied food, clean water, and medication. Beaver added that Thunberg was “treated terribly” and “used as propaganda,” recalling how she was pushed into a room as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered.
Italian journalist Lorenzo Agostino said, “Greta Thunberg, a brave woman, is only 22 years old. She was humiliated, wrapped in an Israeli flag, and exhibited like a trophy.”
Other activists reported severe mistreatment. Turkish TV presenter Ikbal Gurpinar said, “They treated us like dogs. They left us hungry for three days. We had to drink from the toilet… It was a terribly hot day, and we were all roasting.” She added the ordeal gave her “a better understanding of Gaza.”
Turkish activist Aycin Kantoglu described bloodstained prison walls and messages left by previous detainees. “We saw mothers writing their children’s names on the walls. We actually experienced a little bit of what Palestinians go through,” she said.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that 26 Italians had been deported, while 15 remained in Israeli custody awaiting expulsion. Italian MP Arturo Scotto, who joined the flotilla, told reporters, “Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza.”
Adalah, a rights group, reported detainees were forced to kneel with zip-tied hands for hours, denied medication, and blocked from speaking with lawyers.
Israel has faced mounting international criticism for the flotilla raid, which saw its navy intercept around 40 boats carrying aid to Gaza and detain more than 450 people. The operation highlights the illegality of Israel’s blockade, which has trapped Gaza’s 2.3 million residents amid ongoing genocide.
Launched in late August, the flotilla was the latest international attempt to break Israel’s siege and deliver aid to Palestinians.
Hundreds of Global Sumud Flotilla Activists Remain Detained by Israeli Forces
Around 450 activists from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla remain in Israeli detention after Israeli forces boarded their aid boats, abducted them, and forcibly taken them to Israel for deportation.
On Friday, four Italian activists detained on board the Global Sumud Flotilla were deported after they were forcibly taken to Israel.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said procedures were under way to send all remaining participants to other countries.
Some 450 activists are in Israeli detention, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg.
This week, Israeli forces “illegally intercepted” 42 civilian vessels and arrested about 500 activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The boats were carrying “humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza”, the group said.
According to US outlet CBS News, citing American intelligence officials briefed on the matter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly approved an illegal drone attack on two boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla docked in Tunisia.
Israeli forces launched drones from a submarine and dropped incendiary devices onto the boats, which were moored outside Tunisian port Sidi Bou Said, causing a fire.
No one was killed or injured in the attacks, which targeted a Portuguese-flagged vessel and a British-flagged vessel in separate incidents on September 8 and 9.
The use of incendiary weapons against civilian populations or objects is prohibited in all circumstances under international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict.
Israel has a long history of intercepting and attacking flotillas bound for the Gaza Strip, particularly since it imposed a blockade on the enclave in 2007.
5 October 2025
Source: countercurrents.org