Israel deports 171 more activists from Gaza-bound aid flotilla

JERUSALEM -- An additional 171 activists detained by Israel for taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), an aid mission bound for Gaza, were deported from the country on Monday, said a statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

According to the statement, the deportees are citizens of the United States and 18 European countries, including the Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

They departed on two flights from Ramon Airport in southern Israel, bound for Greece and Slovakia, according to the statement.

The GSF, comprising dozens of vessels carrying more than 470 volunteers from over 40 countries, aimed to challenge Israel's naval blockade and deliver food and medical aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

Most of the flotilla's vessels were intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea by the Israeli Navy on Thursday morning, with the final ship being stopped the following day.

All passengers were transferred to the port of Ashdod in southern Israel, and 341 of them have been deported so far.

Israel imposed a naval blockade on Gaza in 2007 after Hamas seized control of the enclave. The restrictions were further tightened following Hamas's cross-border attack on southern Israel in October 2023.