“Let me be very clear. There is a genocide going on,” Thunberg addressed the crowd at the Athens airport, in reference to Israeli military actions in Gaza.

Israel, which refutes claims of genocide in Gaza and considers reports of famine to be exaggerated, has labeled the flotilla as a mere publicity act supporting Hamas. Previously, Thunberg was detained at sea in a similar effort to breach the blockade in June.

The Israeli foreign ministry released a statement with images of Thunberg at the airport, asserting that the legal rights of all participants were respected, noting that the only act of violence was an activist biting a female medic at the Ketziot prison in Israel.

Deported activists allege mistreatment

Upon returning to Switzerland, nine flotilla members accused Israel of depriving them of sleep, water, and food, with some claiming they were beaten, kicked, and caged, as stated by their representative group.

Swedish activists reported that, during detention, Thunberg was pushed and made to wear an Israeli flag, while others alleged they were denied clean food and water, and had their personal items and medications taken away.

Israel’s foreign ministry reiterated in a statement, again providing images of Greta Thunberg at the airport, that all participants’ legal rights were maintained. Source: AAP / Petros Giannakouris/AP

After Thunberg arrived in Athens, she said she could “talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment, trust me, but that is not the story”.

“What happened here was that Israel, while continuing to worsen and escalate their genocide and mass destruction with genocidal intent, attempting to erase an entire population, an entire nation in front of our very eyes, they once again violated international law by preventing humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza while people are being starved,” she said.

Israel says claims ‘complete lies’