Activists including Greta Thunberg were met with cheers as they arrived at a Greek airport on Monday, after being detained in Israel, and then deported, for taking part in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
Israel prevented the Global Sumud Flotilla from reaching the Gaza Strip last week, detaining 471 people who were on board the vessels.
Israeli authorities said on Monday that they had deported some 171 detainees, sending them to Greece and Slovakia. This brought the number who have so far been deported to 341.
Thunberg, holding a bouquet of roses and sunflowers, raised her arm in a fist as people clapped at the airport in Athens.
Before the group emerged, there were chants of “free free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” among the crowd.
Lubna Tuma, a lawyer representing the flotilla participants who were detained, has said some 150 of them are still being held in Israel’s Ktziot prison, 40 of whom are on hunger strike.
Ms Tuma has also claimed the Israeli authorities have repeatedly violated the activists’ rights, with some allegedly being subject to physical violence and humiliation while in detention. Israel has strongly rejected the claims.
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Indirect peace talks take place in Egypt
The deportation came as Israeli and Hamas officials held indirect talks on the US-drafted peace plan to end the war in Gaza on Monday – the eve of the second anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attack.
The talks – taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt – are focusing on the first stage of the proposed ceasefire, including the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave and the release of hostages being held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, according to a Hamas statement.
Asked about the talks, Donald Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt said: “We want to move very quickly on this, the president wants to see the hostages released as soon as possible.”
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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has offered to act as an intermediary in bringing both Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees home.
“Our teams are ready to act as a neutral humanitarian intermediary to help bring hostages and detainees back to their families,” ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric said.
“We are also prepared to bring aid into Gaza and distribute it safely to civilians in desperate need,” she added.
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19 more people killed in Gaza, says health ministry
Attacks in Gaza are still ongoing and the region’s health ministry said on Monday that the bodies of 19 people had been brought to hospitals over the last 24 hours.
It said two of those people were killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire while seeking aid.
The deaths bring the number of Palestinians killed since 7 October 2023 to 67,160, the ministry said. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says more than half of those killed are women and children.
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Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the 7 October attack and abducted a further 251.
Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. A total of 48 are still being held captive by Hamas, with about 20 believed by Israel to still be alive.
