JERUSALEM — Israel deported activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, the country's Foreign Ministry said, a day after the ship she was on bound for Gaza was seized by Israeli armed forces.

Greta Thunberg took a flight to France and then headed to her home country Sweden, the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X. It posted a photo of Thunberg, a climate activist who avoids air travel, sitting on a plane.

Upon arriving at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Freedom Flotilla. She described a “quite chaotic and uncertain” situation during their detention. She said the conditions they faced “are nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially in Gaza right now.”

Mobilization request

“We were well aware of the risks of this mission,” Greta Thunberg said at the Paris airport. “The goal was to reach Gaza and be able to distribute aid.” She said activists would continue to try to get aid to Gaza.

The activists were detained separately and some had difficulty accessing lawyers, she added. Asked why she agreed to the deportation, she said: “Why would I want to stay in an Israeli prison any longer than necessary?”

Greta Thunberg called on supporters to urge their governments to mobilize “to demand not only that humanitarian aid be allowed into Gaza, but above all, an end to the occupation and an end to the systemic oppression and violence that Palestinians face on a daily basis.” She said recognizing Palestine is “the least, the least, the least” that governments can do to help.

The Swedish activist was escorted out of the terminal by police without any luggage, as some supporters applauded. Greta Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on the Madleen, a ship carrying aid to Gaza to protest Israel's ongoing war in the region and draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the trip.

Israeli naval forces seized the boat without incident early Monday morning about 125 miles (200 kilometers) off the coast of Gaza, according to the coalition, which along with human rights groups said Israel’s actions were a violation of international law. Israel rejects that accusation because it says such vessels are intended to violate what it considers a legal naval blockade of Gaza. The boat, accompanied by the Israeli navy, arrived at the Israeli port of Ashdod late Monday.

Other activists

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said three activists, including Greta Thunberg, were deported along with a journalist. It said it encouraged some members of the group to do so so they could speak freely about their experiences. Eight other passengers refused deportation and were detained before their cases were heard by Israeli authorities.

Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing the activists, said the eight were expected to be brought to court later on Tuesday.

“Their detention is unlawful, politically motivated and a direct violation of international law,” the coalition said in a statement. It called for the remaining passengers to be released without deportation and said their lawyers would demand they be allowed to complete their journey to Gaza.

Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel’s Interior Ministry, said the activists being deported on Tuesday had waived their right to appear before a judge. Those who did not will be brought before a court and held for 96 hours before being deported, she said.

Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament of Palestinian descent, was also among the passengers aboard the Madleen. She had previously been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward Palestinians. It was not clear whether she was deported immediately or detained.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that one of the detained French activists had signed an expulsion order and would leave Israel on Tuesday for France. The other five refused. He said all the activists had been granted consular visits.

Sergio Toribio, a Spanish activist who was deported, criticized Israel’s actions after arriving in Barcelona. “It’s unforgivable, it’s a violation of our rights. It’s a pirate attack in international waters,” he told reporters.

On Monday, the human rights group Adalah said Israel had “no legal authority” to seize the ship because the group said it was in international waters and was not heading toward Israel but “the territorial waters of the State of Palestine.”

“The arrest of the unarmed activists, who acted in a civilian capacity to provide humanitarian aid, constitutes a grave violation of international law,” Adalah said in a statement.

Amnesty International said Israel was flouting international law with the naval strike and called on Israel to release the activists immediately and unconditionally. Israel said its actions were in line with international law.

Israel dismissed the ship as a publicity stunt, calling it a “selfie yacht” carrying an “insignificant” amount of aid, equivalent to less than a truckload. “This was nothing more than a ridiculous gimmick. A publicity stunt and nothing more,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said. “In any case, it is our intention to deliver to Gaza the small amount of aid that was on the yacht and that they did not consume.”

Blocking

Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since the Hamas terror group seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is necessary to prevent Hamas from importing weapons, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's Palestinian population.

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During the 20-month war in Gaza, Israel has restricted and at times blocked all aid to the territory, including food, fuel and medicine. Experts say the policy has driven Gaza to famine. Israel says Hamas diverts aid to bolster its rule.

Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war and took 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released under cease-fire or other agreements. Hamas still holds 55 hostages, more than half of whom are believed dead.

Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says women and children make up the majority of the dead. The war has destroyed vast swathes of Gaza and displaced about 90 percent of the territory's population, leaving people almost entirely dependent on international aid. / AP