(MENAFN) Israel has expelled 171 international activists involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) aid mission to Gaza, according to a statement released Monday by the country’s Foreign Ministry.

The group, which included nationals from the United States and 18 European nations — among them Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg — was flown out of Ramon Airport in southern Israel on two separate flights heading to Greece and Slovakia, the statement confirmed.

The GSF flotilla, comprising multiple vessels with more than 470 volunteers from over 40 countries, set out with the goal of delivering food and medical supplies to Gaza and directly challenging Israel’s long-standing naval blockade of the region.

On Thursday morning, most of the fleet was intercepted in the Mediterranean by the Israeli Navy. The final vessel was stopped on Friday. All individuals on board were taken to the port city of Ashdod, located in southern Israel.

So far, 341 passengers from the mission have been deported.

Israel's naval blockade on Gaza was first implemented in 2007 following the militant group Hamas’s takeover of the enclave. The restrictions were significantly reinforced after Hamas launched a deadly cross-border attack on southern Israel in October 2023.

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