Dragged, forced to kiss Israel flag: Horrific details of Greta Thunberg's ‘torture’ emerge

Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza arrived in Turkey on Saturday after being deported.

Published on: Oct 5, 2025, 08:14:19 IST

By Shuvrajit Das Biswas

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Greta Thunberg was allegedly ‘tortured’ after the flotilla she and others were on, enroute Gaza, was intercepted by Israeli forces, Al Jazeera reported. Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza arrived in Turkey on Saturday after being deported.

Hazwani Helmi, a Malaysian citizen, and Windfield Beaver, an American citizen, alleged that Greta Thunberg had been mistreated by Israeli troops. (AFP)

Two alleged that the Swedish activist was mistreated during their detention. Hazwani Helmi, a Malaysian citizen, and Windfield Beaver, an American citizen, told Reuters that Thunberg had been mistreated by Israeli troops.

What Israeli troops allegedly did to Greta Thunberg

Thunberg was reportedly shoved and made to wear an Israeli flag.

“It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,” Helmi recalled. Beaver added, Thunberg was “treated terribly” and “used as propaganda.” The activist described how Thunberg was pushed into a room when Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived.

Turkish journalist Ersin Celik also corroborated this, saying Israeli forces 'tortured' Greta Thunberg and that she was 'dragged on the ground' and ‘forced to kiss the Israeli flag’, as per Al Jazeera.

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Italian journalist Lorenzo Agostino also recalled about Thunberg, “Greta Thunberg, a brave woman, is only 22 years old. She was humiliated and wrapped in an Israeli flag and exhibited like a trophy”, as per Anadolu. Turkish TV presenter Ikbal Gurpinar, meanwhile said, “They treated us like dogs. They left us hungry for three days. They didn’t give us water; we had to drink from the toilet … It was a terribly hot day, and we were all roasting,” Al Jazeera reported.

While Israel has not commented on the new allegations the foreign ministry earlier described reports that detainees were mistreated as "complete lies".

The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war since Palestinian militant group Hamas' deadly attack on Israel in October 2023.

Israeli officials repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt and warned it against violating a "lawful naval blockade".

(With Reuters inputs)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More

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