Israel deports 171 Gaza flotilla activists to Greece and Slovakia
Gaza ceasefire talks making rapid progress: US President
ANKARA: Israel deported on Monday 171 more international activists detained aboard an aid flotilla seeking to challenge an illegal blockade on Gaza.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry statement said that 171 activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were deported to Greece and Slovakia.
The ministry said the deportees were nationals of Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway, the UK, Serbia, and the United States.
Thunberg told Swedish officials that she had been held in a cell infested with bedbugs and provided with insufficient food and water.
Separately, Turkish activist Ersin Celik told Anadolu that Israeli forces “severely tortured Greta before our eyes” and “made her crawl and made her kiss the Israeli flag.”
Israel had earlier deported around 170 flotilla activists over the past few days, most to Istanbul, with smaller groups sent to Italy and Spain, according to the Israeli legal centre Adalah.
Israeli naval forces attacked and seized vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla late Wednesday and detained more than 470 activists from over 50 countries.
The flotilla had been attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the enclave.
Israel has maintained the blockade of Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said today that ongoing negotiations between the United States and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to end the war in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of prisoners are making rapid progress.
In a statement posted on his social media platforms, Trump said the talks have been very successful and proceeding quickly, adding that technical teams are expected to meet again in Egypt later today to finalize the details of the agreement.
He noted that the first phase of the agreement is scheduled to begin this week, urging all parties to move swiftly to end the suffering and achieve peace.
The US President said the agreement his administration is seeking to conclude between Israel and Hamas represents a great deal for Israel, welcoming Hamas’s response, which included its acceptance of several key provisions of the 20-point US proposal.
The plan includes a cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Trump stressed that his plan aims to end the conflict and restore stability to the region. However, he warned that he would completely eliminate Hamas if it refuses to relinquish power and hand over control of the Gaza Strip, as stipulated in the agreement.
This development comes amid intensified regional and international diplomatic efforts, led by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, to reach a comprehensive agreement that would end the ongoing war in Gaza, pave the way for reconstruction, and establish lasting humanitarian and political stability in the Strip. Monitoring Desk
