Members of the Global Sumud Flotilla were abruptly stopped on their way to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip amid the Israel-Hamas war last week. The group of over 40 ships was met by Israeli forces, and a little more than a third of the group has since been deported back to European countries.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, which consisted of 42 ships and roughly 450 members, set sail from Europe over a month ago and was approaching Gaza late last week, at which point Israeli forces apprehended the ships.

Greta Thunberg and 170 other members of the flotilla were deported following a brief detention period over the weekend.

Among the activists were several journalists, European lawmakers, Nelson Mandela's grandson, and 22-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg.

On Monday, the Independent reported that Thunberg and 170 other members of the flotilla were deported following a brief detention period over the weekend. Those who returned described mistreatment by the Israelis, though the Israelis vehemently denied these claims.

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Photo By Kike Rincon/Europa Press via Getty Images

“We also saw Greta Thunberg at the port, in that case with her arms tied and an Israeli flag next to her, just a mockery,” Italian journalist Saverio Tommasi said, according to the New York Post. “Let’s say the mockery was part of the verbal and psychological violence they always carried out, in order to demean, ridicule, and laugh in situations where there is nothing to laugh about.”

The Israel Foreign Ministry denied these claims, calling them “ludicrous and baseless allegations" and adding that Thunberg never complained about them "because they never occurred.”

An alleged video of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went viral on Friday at the port where some of the flotilla activists were brought. The video allegedly shows Ben-Gvir mocking the activists, calling them "terrorists."

One of the stated objectives of the flotilla was to break through the Israelis' "illegal" blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since June 2007 when Hamas seized control of the territory from the Palestinian Authority.

The mission departed in late August 2025 in waves in order to deliver "medical supplies, nutritional aid, and solidarity crews," according to the Global Sumud Flotilla's August 10 press release.

Negotiators for the newly brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas are reportedly expected in Cairo on Monday.

Blaze News contacted the Global Sumud Flotilla for comment but did not receive a response.

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