'I have been abducted,' says Greta Thunberg as Israeli forces intercept Global Sumud flotilla

On Thursday (Oct 2), the Israeli military intercepted the Global Sumud flotilla, which consisted of 40 boats carrying aid and foreign activists moving towards war-torn Gaza. One of the activists detained was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. She had prerecorded the video in which she was seen saying, “My name is Greta Thunberg and I am a citizen of Sweden. If you are watching this video, I have been abducted and taken against my will by the Israeli forces. Our humanitarian mission was non-violent and abiding by international law. Please tell my government to demand my and the others' immediate release.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry also shared a video of the boat carrying activists, it captured moments as they were being detained by the soldiers. In the post, they referred to Global Sumud flotilla as ‘Hamas-Sumud flotilla’. The post read: 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.

Why is Israel blocking Global Sumud Flotilla?

According to Israel, the aid flotilla has Hamas links and claims to have proof of the same, which it gathered during the operations in Gaza. Israel, as reported by the Times, also showed a letter from 2021 signed by now-deceased Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Israel also showed a second document, which was an alleged list of the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) to which Haniyeh addressed the 2021 letter. The list names Zaher Birawi as one of the PCPA employees, who has Hamas links, as per Israel and is a key person behind the Global Sumud Flotilla.