Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has arrived in Athens after being deported from Israel where a Gaza-bound aid flotilla she was part of was intercepted by Israeli naval forces.
She was among 171 foreign activists who Israel says have been deported over the past 24 hours. They were detained on Thursday when their flotilla tried to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.
Israel’s foreign ministry said they were flown to Greece and Slovakia, and that Greek, Slovakian, French, Italian, British and US citizens were among them.
Television pictures showed Thunberg being welcomed at Athens airport by a crowd of people, some waving Palestinian flags.
Organisers of the flotilla said their goal was to “break the illegal siege on Gaza by sea, open a humanitarian corridor, and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people”.
They said the interceptions violated international maritime and humanitarian law.
However, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Monday it was making efforts for the safe evacuation of former senator Muhstaq Ahmad Khan, who was detained by Israel last week.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, through its embassy in Amman, is working tirelessly to secure the safe evacuation of former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan,” the FO said in a statement.
“With the invaluable assistance of the Jordanian government, we are hopeful that the process can be successfully concluded within the next couple of days,” the FO said.
The statement also expressed deep gratitude to the “brotherly” government of Jordan for “their exemplary cooperation and generous support”.
Last week, Pakistan and several other countries condemned Israel’s “dastardly attack” on the GSF.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had called for the release of those detained by Israel. “We hope and pray for the safety of all those who have been illegally apprehended by Israeli forces and call for their immediate release,” he said in a post on X on Thursday.
In a later post, he commended the “dignified participation” of Pakistani activists, including Mushtaq, in the humanitarian mission.
“The government of Pakistan … strongly demands the return of its citizens, praying and striving for their safety, dignity, and earliest possible return to the homeland,” he added.
On Friday, he assured JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman during a telephone conversation that the government was actively engaged in efforts to secure the safe return of Pakistani nationals, including Mushtaq.
The PM told Naeem that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had been assigned to lead these efforts and coordinate with friendly countries and international organisations.
Negotiators from Israel and Hamas began indirect discussions in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday for a hostage-prisoner exchange and Gaza ceasefire, Egyptian state-linked media reported.
Al-Qahera News, which is linked to state intelligence, said the delegations “are discussing preparing ground conditions for the release of detainees and prisoners,” in line with a proposal from US President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza.
“Egyptian and Qatari mediators are working with both sides to establish a mechanism” for the exchange, they added.