On a boat organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an alliance of several pro-Palestinian groups — including one designated as a terrorist group in Israel — the self-described “autistic climate justice activist” Greta Thunberg and others were detained by the Israel Defense Forces on Monday during their attempt to reach Gaza amid an active war.
The civilian ship, the Madleen, was looking to enter the waters along Gaza during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas when Thunberg said they were “kidnapped” by Israeli forces while attempting to deliver “baby formula, medical supplies, and other life-saving aid” to the people of Gaza.
Thunberg and 11 other activists, including Rima Hassa, a French member of the European Parliament who was barred from entering Israel in February for previous statements she’s made against the country, and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, who attended the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the former secretary-general of Hezbollah and is seen in a video chanting “Allahu Akbar! Death to America! Death to Israel! Victory to Islam!”
The Madleen was intercepted at around 3 a.m. local time on Monday, and photos of the encounter appear to paint a different picture than that presented by Thunberg.
In a press release from the Federal Flotilla Coalition the crew was described as having been “attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military” and said the IDF “unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food and medical supplies—confiscated.”
Footage posted by the Israeli Foreign Ministry shows the soldiers passing out water bottles and sandwiches to the activists. They dubbed the Madleen a “selfie yacht,” because of the passengers’ premeditated videos saying they were kidnapped, even though they knew they were unlikely to get past the Israeli forces.
Videos also show climate activist Thunberg and everyone else on the boat throwing their cellphones into the ocean after someone yelled to “ditch the phone!”
In Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians have reportedly been killed, although the number of civilians versus combatants is unclear. Many thousands more Palestinians have been displaced in the ongoing conflict.
The Israeli Navy told the passengers of the Madleen that all humanitarian goods must be delivered through established channels, and that they would deliver the humanitarian cargo to Gazans.
“The tiny amount of aid that wasn’t consumed by the ‘celebrities’ will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels,” the Israel Foreign Ministry reposted on X, noting that “More than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks, and close to 11 million meals were transferred by the GHF directly to civilians in Gaza.”
“There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip — they do not involve provocations and selfies."
Though much of social media’s reaction seems to be critical of Thunberg and her activist comrades, some condemn the Israeli response, calling their actions a “photo-op.”
“Israel makes a photo-op out of offering international hostages food and water after kidnapping them for trying to bring food and water to starving Palestinians in Gaza,” a post by Aaron Maté, a writer for the anti-Israel publication The Grayzone, said.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry also said early on Monday that the pro-Palestinian activists would be returned to their countries. But first, Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered that they be shown a video of the attacks against Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.
Trump responds to Thunberg’s kidnapping claims
During questions on Monday, President Donald Trump was asked if he had discussed Thunberg during his phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday morning.
“Well, (Thunberg is) a strange person,” he said. “She’s a young, angry person. I don’t know if it’s real anger; it’s hard to believe, actually. But I saw what happened. She’s certainly different. Anger management. I think she has to go to an angry management class. That’s my primary recommendation for her.”
He was also asked about Thunberg’s assertion that Israeli forces kidnapped her.
“I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg,” Trump said.