Israel Foreign Ministry refutes claims of mistreatment of Gaza flotilla activists following first deportation

A group of 137 activists who took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla to support Gaza were deported to Turkey on Saturday, with one of them alleging mistreatment of the activists remaining in detention in Israel, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. 

One of the Turkish activists from the flotilla told reporters that upon arriving in Turkey, “They tortured Greta very severely.” 

Turkish activist Ersin Celik told reporters, “They made her crawl. They forced her to kiss the Israeli flag,” alleging that this is “exactly what the Nazis did.” 

Two other activists, Hazwani Helmi from Malaysia and Windfield Beaver from the United States, told Reuters they also witnessed Thunberg being mistreated, telling the agency that the famous Swedish activist was pushed and forced to wear an Israeli flag. 

The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied the accusations.

“The claims regarding the mistreatment of Greta Thunberg and other detainees from the Hamas–Sumud flotilla are brazen lies. All the detainees’ legal rights are fully upheld.” 

The claims regarding the mistreatment of Greta Thunberg and other detainees from the Hamas–Sumud flotilla are brazen lies.
All the detainees’ legal rights are fully upheld.
Interestingly enough, Greta herself and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation and insisted…

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 5, 2025

The ministry also noted that Thunberg, along with several other activists, refused to cooperate with Israeli authorities processing their deportation, thus prolonging their detainment. 

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appeared to lend some support to claims that the detainees are being treated harshly. After visiting the facility where they are being detained, Ben Gvir released a statement saying he is proud of the treatment received by the flotilla activists. 

“I went to visit Ketziot prison and I was proud that we are treating the ‘flotilla activists’ as terror supporters, whoever supports terrorism is a terrorist, and deserves the conditions of terrorists,” Ben Gvir said. 

Ben Gvir also stated that the flotilla was not carrying any meaningful aid on its vessels, echoing claims made by other Israeli officials.

“I was there, on their boats, I didn’t see aid and I didn’t see humanitarian,” Ben Gvir noted. “I saw one Materna [baby formula] and an entire wild party of people who were dressing up as human rights activists, but who in practice came to support terrorism.” 

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on his 𝕏 account that Thunberg’s treatment by Israel cannot be compared to the treatment of the Israeli hostages by Hamas, after several activists claimed to have been “abducted.” 

“Well Greta, forgive me for not weeping over your substandard bed but your conditions for 2 days are FAR better than those of the hostages being held for 2 yrs by Hamas who sponsored your worthless boat ride,” Huckabee wrote. 

Well Greta forgive me for not weeping over your substandard bed but your conditions for 2 days are FAR better than those of the hostages being held for 2 yrs by Hamas who sponsored your worthless boat ride. https://t.co/QlOS7n4RJQ

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 4, 2025

Meanwhile, the Adalah legal aid organization, which is representing activists from the Gaza flotilla, said Ben Gvir’s remarks represent an “endorsement of inhumane treatment, abuse, and intimidation” of the detainees.