Greta Thunberg Deported From Israel After ‘Selfie Yacht’ Intercepted

Climate activist Greta Thunberg, who famously avoids air travel for environmental reasons, was forced to board a plane on Tuesday after Israel deported her following the Israel Defense Force’s interception of what officials called her Gaza-bound “selfie yacht.”

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Tuesday via X that Thunberg “departed Israel on a flight to Sweden” via France, sharing pictures of the 22-year-old buckled in an airplane seat near the lavatory.

Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France). pic.twitter.com/kWrI9KVoqX

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 10, 2025

Three other activists were also transported for deportation, while eight others — reportedly including a European Parliament member — refused to sign the required paperwork and are awaiting a judicial hearing to authorize their deportation.

According to The Times of Israel, Thunberg told her lawyers that refusing to sign the deportation papers would do more harm than good.

“I do more good outside of Israel than if I am forced to stay here for a few weeks,” Thunberg told her lawyers, per The Times of Israel. “If we choose to stay here against the will of the Israeli authorities and are arrested for a few weeks, it will harm our cause.”

Thunberg and the 11 other anti-Israel activists attempted to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza over the weekend, despite numerous warnings from the IDF, and bring in less than a truckload of humanitarian supplies to the active war zone.

Israeli authorities mockingly dubbed the vessel the “selfie yacht,” asserting the mission was merely a publicity stunt, given the minuscule amount of aid on the flotilla.

“The tiny amount of aid that wasn’t consumed by the ‘celebrities’ will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels,” the Israel Foreign Ministry wrote on X. “More than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks, and close to 11 million meals were transferred by the GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) directly to civilians in Gaza.”

“There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip — they do not involve provocations and selfies.”

Before her deportation, Thunberg posted a pre-recorded video claiming she had been “kidnapped” by Israel, a claim that generated criticism in the wake of hundreds of Israelis being taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

“If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters,” she said. “I urge all of my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.”

President Donald Trump mocked the Swede on Monday, suggesting, “I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg,” and recommending she enroll in “anger management” classes.