4 French nationals aboard Gaza aid ship to be deported to France

Four French nationals from a Gaza aid ship who are being held in Israel will be deported back to France on Thursday and Friday, according to France's foreign minister.

"The 4 French nationals still being held in Israel will be deported to France tomorrow and the day after," Jean-Noel Barrot announced Wednesday on X.

Two of the six French nationals present on the Gaza-bound aid ship had already agreed to return to France on Tuesday, while the remaining four, including French-Palestinian European Parliament member Rima Hassan, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi and Reva Viard, had rejected their expulsion.

The other four activists in Israeli custody are Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, Suayb Ordu from Türkiye, Mark van Rennes from the Netherlands and Yasemin Acar from Germany.

The British-flagged vessel Madleen set sail on June 6 from Sicily, Italy for Gaza in an attempt to break an Israeli naval blockade on the enclave, where nearly 55,000 people have been killed in a deadly onslaught since October 2023.

Israeli forces seized the Madleen in international waters early Monday and detained its 12-strong crew.

Activists aboard the Madleen included Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, Rima Hassan, Yasemin Acar from Germany, Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi and Reva Viard from France, Thiago Avila from Brazil, Suayb Ordu from Türkiye, Sergio Toribio from Spain, Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.

Israeli authorities deported four activists Tuesday, including Greta Thunberg, to their home countries, while eight others remain in detention.