• Swedish activist accuses world of complicity; refuses to dwell on her captivity, says Gaza is ‘the real story’
• Foreign Office hopes for ex-JI senator’s safe return ‘within a couple of days’

ATHENS/ISLAMABAD: Around 170 activists, captured by Israel after it intercepted an international aid flotilla bound for Gaza, were deported to Greece and Slovakia on Monday. Among them was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Office expressed the hope that former Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmed would also be safely evacuated “within the next couple of days”.

The flotilla, which had a motley crew of activists and politicians on board, departed from Spain last month in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

However, Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla as it neared the Gaza port and detained the activists.

According to accounts of those released from Israeli detention, Ms Thunberg was treated extremely badly by her captors.

They were held in prison-style camps, with an Israeli cabinet minister even showing up to yell at the detainees.

Israel’s foreign ministry said Monday’s expulsions of 171 people brought the total number of deported activists to 341 out of 479 detained. It released photos of Ms Thunberg at Ramon airbase in Israel’s Negev Desert, showing the Swedish activist boarding a plane.

The deportees were citizens of 19 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Ireland, the ministry said, dismissing the flotilla as a publicity stunt.

‘A live-streamed genocide’

Speaking to reporters in Athens after her deportation, Ms Thunberg accused world governments of complicity in a “live-streamed genocide” in Gaza by Israel and said the flotilla’s mission was a response to their failure to act.

“Let me be very clear, there’s a genocide going on in front of our very eyes, a live-streamed genocide on all of our phones,” Ms Thunberg said. “No one in the future will be able to say, we did not know.”

While she referenced the activists’ detention, Ms Thunberg said the focus should remain on Gaza.

“I can talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses and imprisonment, trust me, but that is not the story,” Ms Thunberg said.

She described the aid mission as a “last resort” for Palestinians while leaders “continue to fuel genocide, death and destruction”.

“What we aimed to do with the Global Sumud Flotilla was to step up when our governments failed to do their legal obligations,” she said.

“What happened here was Israel continuing to worsen and escalate their genocide and mass destruction with genocidal intent, attempting to erase an entire population.”

She said the activists’ demands went beyond just delivering aid and called for a permanent end to Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory.

“We do not only want humanitarian aid to enter Gaza,” she stated. “We need an end to this siege, we need an end to the occupation and the oppression.”

Ex-senator’s recovery

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office of Pakistan (FO) said it was making efforts for the safe evacuation of former Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who led the Pakistani delegation on the 45-vessel Global Sumud Flotilla, and hoped that the process could be “successfully concluded within the next couple of days”.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, through its embassy in Amman, is working tirelessly to secure the safe evacuation of former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan,” the FO said in a statement. “With the invaluable assistance of the Jordanian government, we are hopeful that the process can be successfully concluded within the next couple of days.”

Last week, Pakistan was among several nations that condemned Israel’s “dastardly attack” on the flotilla and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for the immediate release of those detained.

He assured Jamat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman that the government was actively engaged in securing the safe return of its nationals.

The FO confirmed through “the diplomatic channels of a friendly European country” that Mr Khan was in Israeli custody and was “safe and in good health.” The office added that Mr Khan would be presented before a local court, and his repatriation would be fast-tracked following a deportation order.

With input from Reuters

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2025