Greta Thunberg has landed back home in Sweden following her deportation from Israel, but has defiantly vowed to return after her failed aid mission.
The 22-year-old activist spoke to reporters in Paris just hours after being forcibly removed from Israel alongside a group of 11 other international activists who had been on board the ‘freedom flotilla’.
The group had set sail towards Gaza carrying a symbolic amount of aid, before being intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Egypt early Monday.
They were then taken to the port of Ashdod, where Thunberg was detained before being placed on a flight to France on Tuesday morning.
Despite her swift deportation, Thunberg was unrepentant. The activist vowed that they ‘would not stop’ trying to help and promised that ‘this is not the end.’
Thunberg told journalists shortly after landing in Paris: ‘What is certain is that we will not stop.
‘We are going to continue try to do everything we can because that is the promise that we have given to to Palestinians.
‘We are going to try every single day in every way that we can and keep trying to demand an end to the atrocities.’
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg (R) arrives at Arlanda airport outside Stockholm, Sweden, on June 10, 2025
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday shared a photo of the disgruntled 22-year-old sitting on board the plane moments before the flight departed Israel’s Ben Gurion airport
A surveillance footage shows crew of the Gaza-bound British-flagged yacht ‘Madleen’, put their hands up as they are intercepted by Israeli boats early Monday morning
She accused Israel of ‘kidnapping’ her in international waters, a claim she made previously in a dramatic pre-recorded SOS message released shortly after her detention.
But a picture of her smiling as a soldier offered her sandwich after her boat was intercepted quickly went viral.
Thunberg accused Israel of orchestrating a PR stunt following the action.
Speaking on Tuesday, she doubled down: ‘People were not being treated well. I was not able to to say goodbye to people and I don’t know what’s happening. And there were many, many issues’.
Pressed for details on her treatment, she described the experience as ‘very dehumanising,’ though she insisted: ‘But of course, I have to stress nothing compared to what Palestinians are going through. I would prefer not to go into detail’.
She added: ‘I do know that there were major issues with people actually getting to talk to lawyers.
‘When you look at the state of the world, everything feels meaningless. But unless you try to do everything you can, we lose our hope.’
The activist, who has long eschewed air travel for environment reasons, was photographed on board an aircraft en route to France earlier on Tuesday – a moment that Israel’s Foreign Ministry was quick to publicise, posting the image on social media platform X.
Prior to her deportation, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he’d instructed IDF officials to show the activists the full, unedited footage of the October 7 attacks as recorded by Hamas terrorist body cameras.
‘It is appropriate that the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas supporters see exactly who the Hamas terrorist organization they came to support and for whom they work is, what atrocities they committed against women, the elderly, and children, and against whom Israel is fighting to defend itself,’ he said.
Late on Monday night, he told reporters: ‘Greta and her flotilla companions were taken into a room upon their arrival to the screening of the horror film of the October 7 massacre… when they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching.
Greta Thunberg is pictured at the Israeli port of Ashdod after the Madleen ‘freedom flotilla’ ship was intercepted by Israeli boats on Monday
The Madleen, which sailed towards Gaza to raise awareness of the crisis in the territory
A general view of the Ashdod Port where the Madleen was towed after being intercepted and where the activists were detained
The Israeli foreign ministry also derided what it called the ‘selfie yacht’ carrying ‘celebrity’ activists, adding that the aid onboard would be transferred to Gaza through what it called ‘real humanitarian channels’
‘The anti-Semitic flotilla members are turning a blind eye to the truth and have proven once again that they prefer the murderers to the murdered and continue to ignore the atrocities committed by Hamas against Jewish and Israeli women, adults, and children.’
Katz and other Israeli officials have come under fire for branding Thunberg and her fellow activists ‘anti-Semitic’ for wanting to deliver aid to starving Gazans.
But Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said: ‘This wasn’t humanitarian aid. It’s Instagram activism…
‘Who’s really feeding Gaza and who’s really feeding their own ego? Greta was not bringing aid, she was bringing herself.’
Meanwhile, the French government revealed that five of the six French citizens detained alongside Thunberg had refused to sign deportation orders, meaning they will now face judicial proceedings.
US President Donald Trump did not miss the opportunity to wade in on the controversy.
‘I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg. She’s a young, angry person… I think she has to go to an anger management class,’ he said.
Thunberg responded to his comments, saying: ‘I think the world needs a lot of more young, angry women, to be honest, especially with everything going on right now’.
After a brief stop in France, Thunberg landed back home at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport just after 10:30pm Tuesday.
She was greeted by around 30 cheering supporters waving Palestinian flags amid a large media presence at the airport.
An image shared by the Israeli Foreign Ministry of what the ministry said were passengers on the Madleen Gaza-bound aid boat being given sandwiches
Thunberg joined 11 activists in sailing to the Gaza Strip with a ‘symbolic’ amount of aid
On June 10, 2025, Israel deported Swedish Greta Thunberg by plane to Sweden via France, after she was arrested on board an aid boat for Gaza with other pro-Palestinian activists who were taken to Ben Gurion airport for deportation
Of the 12 people on board the sailing boat Madleen, two French nationals agreed to be deported on June 10, while four others declined pending a court decision. Pictured: Thunberg was greeted by around 30 cheering supporters waving Palestinian flags amid a large media presence at the airport
Asked in Stockholm if she was scared when the security forces boarded the Madleen sailboat, Thunberg replied: ‘What I’m afraid of is that people are silent during an ongoing genocide’.
‘What I feel most is concern for the continued violations of international law and war crimes that Israel is guilty of,’ Thunberg told reporters.
She accused Israel of carrying out a ‘systematic genocide’ and ‘systematic starvation of over two million people’ in Gaza.
Several rights groups including Amnesty International have accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza but Israel vehemently rejects the term.
‘We must act, we must demand that our government acts, and we must act ourselves when our complicit governments do not step up,’ Thunberg said.
She rose to fame as a schoolgirl activist against climate change and seeks to avoid flying because of its environmental impact, going so far as to cross the Atlantic by sailboat twice.
She appeared confused about reporters’ questions about how it felt to travel by plane, replying, ‘Why are you asking about that?’
Of the 12 people on board the Madleen carrying food and supplies for Gaza, eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily.
Four others, including Thunberg, were deported.
All of them have been banned from Israel for 100 years, according to the rights group that legally represents some of them.
