Looks Like Greta Thunberg Won’t Be Saving Gaza After All

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) detained Greta Thunberg and other activists off the coast of the Gaza Strip after she attempted to sail to the territory in an aid vessel, The Associated Press reported Monday.

The voyage, organized by the pro-Palestine group Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), was bound for the shores of Gaza by way of Sicily before the IDF intercepted the boat as it approached the shore, according to the AP. Israel also planned to have Thunberg and her associates watch tapes from the October 7 massacres upon arrival at the Port of Ashdod, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote in a Monday post to X.

Thunberg has pivoted her public image in recent years from being one of the world’s most well-known climate activists to advocating for pro-Palestinian positions. For her climate change advocacy efforts, she was named TIME Magazine’s “person of the year” in 2019.

“I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible,” Thunberg said in a pre-recorded message just before her detainment, according to the AP.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry