Greta Thunberg claims that she was “abducted and tortured” by the Israeli army, after arresting the activists on the fleet with humanitarian help for Gaza
Greta Thunberg and Activists in Flotila Global Sumud hold a press conference in the center of Stockholm, Sweden, on October 7, 2025. Photo: Caisa Rasmussen / TT / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
Greta Thunberg Swedish activist on Tuesday claimed that she and other people on the fleet who tried to deliver humanitarian aid in the Gaza strip were subjected to torture in the Israeli prison in which they were held after the arrest, informs Reuters.
Thunberg said, in a press conference in Stockholm, that she and others were “abducted and tortured” by the Israeli army.
The activist refused to provide additional details, adding, when reporters insisted, that he did not receive drinking water and that other people kept in detention were deprived of essential drugs.
“Personally, I do not want to share what I have suffered, because I do not want to reach the titles of newspapers and write” Greta was tortured “, because this is not the news in this case,” she said, adding that what they suffered is pale in comparison with what lives daily.
The position of Israel
The Foreign Ministry of Israel did not immediately respond to a Reuters request to comment on Greta Thunberg's statements, but repeatedly denied that it would have applied bad treatments to the detained persons.
“All detained people (…) had access to water, food and toilets; they were not refused access to legal assistance and all their legal rights were fully respected,” a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry told last week.
Thunberg was part of Flotila Global Sumud, a group of ships that tried to reach Gaza to bring humanitarian aid and draw attention to the difficult situation in the Palestinian enclave, where most of the 2.2 million inhabitants were driven from their homes, while the United Nations (UN) states that hunger is ravaging there.
Greta Thunberg was detained together with 478 people in the fleet and expelled from Israel during Monday.
Israel, who argues that the information and reports on the Gaza hunger are exaggerated, cataloged the fleet with humanitarian aid as “an advertising maneuver” for the benefit of the Palestinian militant group and a challenge. Previously, Thunberg had been detained at sea in a similar attempt to break the Israeli block on Gaza's strip in June.
Swedish activists said on Saturday that Thunberg was pushed and forced to wear an Israeli flag during detention, but Thunberg did not mention this at the press conference on Tuesday.
Greta Thunberg says it is held in a “infested with plows” and without enough water and food, in Israeli detention.
Thunberg and other participants also complained that the Swedish government did not give them enough help during Israel detention.
The Stockholm government said in a press release on Tuesday that it has repeatedly recommended to avoid travel in the Gaza Strip, but that it still gave consular support to the activists and that it underlined the importance of the proper treatment of Swedish citizens.
