Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been deported from Israel, a day after she was aboard a Gaza-bound ship intercepted by the Israeli navy, according to Israel바카라™s Foreign Ministry.
Thunberg, who was part of a group of 12 activists aboard the Madleen, a vessel carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza, was photographed on a plane leaving Israel on Tuesday. The Foreign Ministry stated she was en route to France and would then continue on to Sweden.
The Madleen was seized early Monday approximately 200 kilometers off Gaza바카라™s coast. The operation was confirmed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the organization behind the mission. The ship, escorted by Israeli naval forces, docked later that day at the port of Ashdod.
Israeli authorities said the ship violated the country바카라™s naval blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since 2007. Activists onboard described the voyage as a peaceful protest against the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Adalah, an Israeli legal rights group representing Thunberg and other detainees, said that Thunberg, along with two other activists and a journalist, agreed to voluntary deportation, AP reported. Others who refused to leave were being held in detention pending a legal hearing.
Israel바카라™s Foreign Ministry dismissed the flotilla as a publicity effort, referring to the intercepted vessel on social media as the "'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities'" and claiming it was safely redirected to Israeli shores without incident.
The attempted delivery of aid and subsequent deportation come amid heightened international attention on Gaza, where humanitarian conditions have sharply deteriorated in recent months due to the ongoing conflict.
