Greta Thunberg faces death threats as she sails for Gaza on aid ship

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has faced a torrent of violent threats and incitement from pro-Israel figures and commentators after joining a humanitarian aid flotilla sailing to break the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza.

The 21-year-old Swedish activist departed from Sicily on Sunday aboard the Madleen, a vessel operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

She is joined by 11 other prominent activists, including Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, in a mission to deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, where international organisations said Israel was using starvation techniques as a weapon of war.

Read: Greta Thunberg announces to visit Gaza with activists

The flotilla’s mission sparked an aggressive backlash, with several pro-Israel voices using social media to issue thinly veiled threats and outright incitement against Thunberg and her fellow passengers.

US Senator Lindsey Graham wrote on X, “Hope Greta and her friends can swim!”

Hope Greta and her friends can swim!https://t.co/Noab4QyJtV

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 1, 2025

Will Chamberlain, senior counsel at the Article III Project, added, “The Israelis could do the funniest thing."

The Israelis could do the funniest thing https://t.co/FMakPJXy3j

— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) June 1, 2025

Meanwhile, Arsen Ostrovsky, an Israeli lawyer known for publicly supporting Israel's war on Gaza, wrote, “Oh look, the little jihadi Greta Thunberg is trying to get into Gaza… It would be so sad if something were to happen to her flotilla…”

Oh look, I see Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for Hamas, did not like my post about jihadi wannabe Greta Thunberg!

You definitely don’t want to RT my original post below … https://t.co/Xc31ZIO2rS pic.twitter.com/RIEbcyBYzT

— Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) June 2, 2025

Meanwhile, human rights groups condemned these remarks as open calls to violence.

Thunberg, visibly emotional at the launch, stated, “No matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying. Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. This mission is dangerous, but silence in the face of genocide is far more dangerous.”

The Madleen is expected to take up to seven days to reach Gaza, if not intercepted. The journey comes just weeks after the Conscience, another Gaza-bound aid ship, was bombed by Israeli drones in international waters near Malta on May 2. 

Israel previously used lethal force against flotillas, most notably during the 2010 Mavi Marmara raid, which killed 10 civilians.

“We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea,” said Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, “but we are also preparing for land mobilisations, including a march from Egypt to Rafah in mid-June.”