By Kieran Kelly

 

STOCKHOLM, 16 Oct. - (ANA) - Greta Thunberg has claimed she was “hit, kicked, starved and tortured” during her time in Israeli custody.

 

The Swedish activist accused Israeli guards of defacing her suitcase with the words “whore Greta”, drawings of a penis and images of the Star of David.

 

The 22-year-old was detained by Israel earlier this month after taking part in an attempt by the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

 

It was the activist coalition’s second attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since 2009.

 

Ms Thunberg said she was taken to a “dystopian” paved area lined with iron fences and other detainees, who had been tied up with their foreheads on the floor.

 

“I saw maybe 50 people sitting in a row on their knees with handcuffs and their foreheads against the ground,” she told Aftonbladet, the Swedish newspaper.

 

“They dragged me to the opposite side from where the others were sitting, and I had the flag around me the whole time. They hit and kicked me.”

 

Ms Thunberg accused the guards of having “no empathy or humanity” and claimed they took selfies with her while she was in prison.

 

She added: “There’s a lot I don’t remember. So much is happening at once. You’re in shock, you’re in pain, but you go into a state of trying to stay calm.”

 

Ms Thunberg also claimed that she had to “beg” for water while being kept in 40C heat but said the guards laughed in front of her while holding water bottles, before threatening to “gas” her.

 

“When people fainted, we banged on the cages and asked for a doctor. Then the guards came and said: ‘We’re going to gas you’. It was standard for them to say that. They held up a gas cylinder and threatened to press it against us,” she said.

 

“During the nights, guards regularly came by and shook the bars, shining flashlights, and several times a night they came in and forced everyone to stand up.”

 

In a statement, the Israeli foreign ministry said: “Greta Thunberg is brazenly lying.

 

“All of her legal rights were fully upheld. Interestingly enough, Greta herself refused to expedite her deportation and insisted on prolonging her stay in custody. She also never lodged any complaint with the Israeli authorities regarding these ludicrous and baseless allegations – because they simply never happened.”

 

She first accused Israel of torturing her shortly after she was deported from the country earlier this month, which the ministry denied.

 

The climate activist was deported from Israel on Oct 6 after being detained on the flotilla several days before.

 

The flotilla had set sail from Barcelona in September, its second attempt to breach Israel’s navy blockade over Gaza.

 

On Oct 2, most of the vessels in the GSF had been stopped some 100 miles off the war-torn enclave after ignoring orders to change course.

 

Organisers called the interceptions an “illegal attack on unarmed humanitarians in international waters”.

 

After the boats were intercepted, Israel released a video of Ms Thunberg sitting on deck, being handed a bottle of water and jacket by a soldier.

 

In a statement, the foreign ministry said: “Already several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port.

 

“Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”

 

After Ms Thunberg’s boat was stopped, the GSF pledged to “continue undeterred”.

 

In June this year, Israeli naval forces detained Ms Thunberg and 11 crew members from a small ship organised by a pro-Palestinian group called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as they approached Gaza.    - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/16 October 2025 - - -