By ISAAC SCHARF and AREEJ HAZBOUN Updated 3:08 PM EDT, June 10, 2025

"The conditions they faced “are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now,” she said. The trip was meant to protest Israeli restrictions on aid to Gaza’s population of over 2 million people after 20 months of war, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the journey.

“We were well aware of the risks of this mission,” Thunberg said. “The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.” She said the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza."