Fontaines D.C. and AURORA are among those who have expressed solidarity with Greta Thunberg, who has said she is enduring “harsh treatment” at the hands of Israeli forces.
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Environmental activist Thunberg has claimed to Swedish officials that she is being subjected to harsh treatment after being abducted in international waters and illegally detained in an Israeli prison, according to correspondence seen by the Guardian.
In an email seen by the publication, an official who has visited her in prison claimed she was detained in a cell infested with bedbugs and with too little food and water.
News of Thunberg’s alleged ill treatment follows Israeli forces intercepting at least 39 vessels and detaining dozens of crew members on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was attempting to break Israel’s illegal blockade and deliver essential humanitarian aid to the occupied Gaza Strip, amidst the ongoing genocide.
“The embassy has been able to meet with Greta,” the email seen by The Guardian read. “She informed of dehydration. She has received insufficient amounts of both water and food. She also stated that she had developed rashes, which she suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”
“They dragged little Greta by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others,”
—A Turkish activist described shocking abuse against climate campaigner Greta Thunberg by Israeli forces pic.twitter.com/CXoLGDbhbF
— The Resonance (@Partisan_12) October 4, 2025
“Another detainee reportedly told another embassy that they had seen her [Thunberg] being forced to hold flags while pictures were taken. She wondered whether images of her had been distributed,” the Swedish ministry’s official added.
It is noted that the allegation of her mistreatment was corroborated by at least two other members of the flotilla, who on Saturday (October 4) had been released by Israeli forces.
“They dragged little Greta by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag,” Turkish activist ErsinÇelik – a participant in the Sumud flotilla – told Anadolu News. “They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others.”
Lorenzo D’Agostino, a journalist and flotilla participant, said that that Thunberg was “wrapped in the Israeli flag and paraded like a trophy”.
Fontaines D.C. took to Instagram stories to share their shock and support with an image and the headline: “Greta Thunberg violently handled by Israeli military. She was dragged by her hair, beaten, and forced to kiss Israeli flag”.
Likewise, Nadine Shah and Garbage‘s Shirley Manson have also several reports about Thunberg’s detainment and others’ messages of support for the flotilla and cause.
View this post on Instagram
These reports have prompted widespread condemnation, with AURORA – who has joined Thunberg for oil protests in Norway – posting a tearful video and making a plea to “get them home”.
Responding to allegations Thunberg had been beaten and “dragged by her hair” by Israeli forces, she wrote: “All she has done is try to stand up for a whole nation that is about to die from being forced to starve.”
Back in March, Israel closed all crossings into Gaza, meaning no supplies have been allowed to enter since. Aid organisations across the globe have continually sounded the alarm as malnutrition rates soar while “humanitarian conditions are rapidly collapsing”, per medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières.
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This marks the second time Thunberg has been arrested alongside other flotilla members, after a similar attempt earlier this year ended with the activists’ arrest and deportation.
Back in July, Fontaines shared an image of themselves backstage with Thunberg at Roskilde Festival, which followed Thunberg’s announcement of the first campaign to deliver aid. In a video update shared in June, she sported a Fontaines D.C. charity shirt and raised awareness for the ‘Freedom Flotilla‘ trip, which saw her and 11 other campaigners set sail for Gaza in an attempt to “break Israel’s siege”.
The boat, called Madleen, was operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition group (FFC) and had embarked in an attempt to deliver food and medical supplies to those in the city, as well as raise “international awareness” of the humanitarian crisis amid the conflict with Israel.
On June 9, FFC shared an update claiming that Israel had “forcibly intercepted” the boat and acted with “total impunity”, which saw the entertainment world come out in similar condemnation.
JUST IN: A Turkish activist from the Sumud Flotilla speaks out:
Israelis prevented us from having medicine, they only gave us water after 32 hours. We barely had any food.
We were woken up at 3 in the morning with dogs and snipers walking into our rooms, they woke us up every… pic.twitter.com/fDF8jI2gVh
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman_) October 4, 2025
According to Adalah, an Israeli group offering legal assistance to flotilla members, some detainees were denied access to lawyers, water, medications, and toilets. They went on to allege that some were “forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours” after chanting “Free Palestine.”
Israel officials have denied the allegations and called them “brazen lies”.
“All of Adalah’s claims are complete lies. Of course, all detainees […] were given access to water, food, and restrooms; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights were fully upheld,” a foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters.
The embassy further told The Guardian: “Israel is and will remain a state governed by the rule of law, committed to upholding the rights and dignity of all individuals in accordance with international standards.”
The BBC reports that as of yesterday (Saturday October 3), Israel claimed to have deported 137 of the 470 people arrested from the flotilla, and that all detainees were in good health. The foreign ministry’s initial statement mentioned the presence of Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on one of the boats, but did not give further details on her status.
In a statement on Friday, the GSF said: “Over 38 hours, Israeli occupation naval forces illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels – each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza.”
“This is an illegal attack on unarmed humanitarians. We call on governments and international institutions to demand their immediate safety and release,” it added.
Since the flotilla was intercepted, protests have erupted across the world in Italy, Spain, Colombia, Argentina and beyond in solidarity with Thunberg and the activists.
The post Fontaines D.C. and AURORA lead reactions to reports of Greta Thunberg being mistreated by Israeli forces appeared first on NME.