Eco-zealot Greta Thunberg has reportedly complained her cell is infested with bedbugs and that she has too little food and water, after she and other 450 Gaza activists were stopped from sailing a flotilla of boats to Gaza. Israeli forces intercepted the so-called Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) on Thursday and Friday after the boats, which were carrying humanitarian aid, refused to dock in any other port in Israel, instead trying to land on the shores of Gaza.
Israel maintains an exclusion zone around the coast of Gaza during the war with Hamas, and the Israeli military stopped the fleet of 40 boats and detained activists, including 22-year-old Ms Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and several European lawmakers. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said measures were already underway to deport those taken from the flotilla and the ministry released an image of Ms Thunberg, who was smiling in the photograph, but had her eyes closed.
A statement from the foreign ministry said the world-renowned campaigner was in “good health”, but according to The Guardian the Swedish activist has complained about the conditions in which she is held.
The newspaper reports an email sent to Swedish authorities states that Ms Thunberg had complained of bedbugs and a lack of sufficient food and water. The email states: “She informed of dehydration. She has received insufficient amounts of both water and food. She also stated that she had developed rashes which she suspects were caused by bedbugs.”
The correspondence added that Ms Thunberg said she had been “sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”
In Israel’s southern port of Ashdod, the country’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was filmed visiting the site where activists were being processed ahead of their deportations. He accused the flotilla participants, who come from more than 40 countries, of supporting “terrorism,” and aboard one of the seized boats, mocked the activists’ aid initiative.
In the footage, the activists are seen sitting cross-legged on the floor while Ben-Kvir stands and delivers his accusations. One person is heard shouting back “Free Palestine” but it was not immediately clear from the footage who that was. By Friday afternoon, at least four Italian citizens were deported, Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted on X. “Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible,” the ministry said.
It added: “Already 4 Italian citizens have been deported. The rest are in the process of being deported. Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible.
“Attached are photos of Greta Thunberg and other members of this provocation while arriving to Israel. All are safe and in good health.
“As Israel, Italy, Greece, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem have stated time and again, any aid these boats might have carried, as little as it was, could have been peacefully transferred to Gaza. This was nothing but a provocation.”