ANKARA/ROME: Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza arrived in Turkey on Saturday after being deported, with two alleging that Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was mistreated during her detention. Israel did not immediately comment on the new allegations, but its foreign ministry earlier described reports that detainees had been mistreated as &ldquo;complete lies.&rdquo; The activists who landed at Istanbul Airport included 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Jordan, according to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources. Thunberg &lsquo;treated terribly,&rsquo; activist allegesTwo of them, Hazwani Helmi, a Malaysian citizen, and Windfield Beaver, an American citizen, told Reuters at the airport that they had witnessed Thunberg being mistreated, saying she was shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag. &ldquo;It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,&rdquo; said Helmi, 28, adding that detainees were not provided with clean food or water and that medication and belongings were confiscated. Beaver, 43, said Thunberg was &ldquo;treated terribly&rdquo; and &ldquo;used as propaganda,&rdquo; describing how she was pushed into a room as Israel&rsquo;s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived. Israel has faced international condemnation after its military intercepted about 40 boats in a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and detained more than 450 activists. Its foreign ministry wrote on X that all detained activists were &ldquo;safe and in good health,&rdquo; adding it was keen to complete the remaining deportations &ldquo;as quickly as possible.&rdquo; In a separate X post, it accused some flotilla members of &ldquo;deliberately obstructing&rdquo; the deportation process, without providing evidence. Reuters was unable to verify the allegation independently. Israel denies allegations of mistreatmentItaly&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board the Turkish Airlines flight, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled over the next few days, along with activists from other nations. &ldquo;I have once again given instructions to the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights,&rdquo; Tajani wrote on X. A first group of Italians from the flotilla &mdash; four parliamentarians &mdash; arrived in Rome on Friday. &ldquo;Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza,&rdquo; Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, told a press conference in Rome. &ldquo;We were brutally stopped ... brutally taken hostage,&rdquo; said Benedetta Scuderi, another Italian parliamentarian. According to Adalah, an Israeli group offering legal assistance to flotilla members, some detainees were denied access to lawyers, water, medication, and toilets. They were also &ldquo;forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours after some participants chanted &lsquo;Free Palestine,&rsquo;&rdquo; Adalah said. Israel denied the allegations. &ldquo;All of Adalah&rsquo;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,&rdquo; a foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters. The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war since the Palestinian militant group Hamas&rsquo;s deadly attack on Israel in October 2023. Israeli officials repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt and warned it against violating a &ldquo;lawful naval blockade.&rdquo;

Halil Rifat Canakci of Turkey, one of the activists who were sailing aboard vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla which were seized by Israeli forces, reacts after arriving at Istanbul Airport on a special flight, in Istanbul, Turkey, October 4, 2025. RE

Middle East

Europe

Some 137 activists detained by Israel arrive in Turkey after being deported, with two alleging that the Swedish campaigner was mistreated during her detention. Israel's foreign ministry describes reports that detainees had been mistreated as 'complete lies.'

Freed activists allege Greta Thunberg mistreated in Israeli custody

Reuters

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump&#39;s administration is preparing to set a refugee admissions cap at 7,500 people this fiscal year, a record low that prioritizes white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity, three people familiar with the matter said.&nbsp;If finalized, the planned cap would be a steep drop from the 125,000 put in place last year under former President Joe Biden and reflect Trump&#39;s restrictive view of immigration and humanitarian protection. Trump, a Republican, slashed refugee levels during his 2017-2021 presidency as part of a broad crackdown on both legal and illegal immigration. After returning to office in January 2025, he froze refugee admissions, saying they could only resume if it was determined to be in the interest of the US.&nbsp;Weeks later, Trump issued an executive order prioritizing refugee entries from South Africa&#39;s Dutch-descended Afrikaner minority, saying the white minority group suffered racial discrimination and violence in majority-Black South Africa. South Africa&#39;s government has rejected those claims.&nbsp;The first group of 59 South Africans arrived in May, reaching a total of 138 by early September, Reuters reported previously.&nbsp;The White House, State Department and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the planned 7,500-person refugee ceiling in fiscal year 2026, which began on Wednesday. The New York Times first reported the plans.&nbsp;John Slocum, executive director of Refugee Council USA, urged other elected officials to push Trump to bring in more refugees, saying in a statement that such a low limit would be &quot;jeopardizing people&rsquo;s lives, separating families, and undermining our national security and economic growth.&quot;&nbsp;Trump officials had previously discussed annual refugee admissions ranging from 40,000 to 60,000, Reuters reported in recent months.&nbsp;At a side event at the United Nations General Assembly last week, top Trump administration officials urged other nations to join a global campaign to roll back asylum protections, a major shift that would seek to reshape the post-World War Two framework around humanitarian migration.

Americas

The planned cap is a steep drop from the 125,000 put in place last year under former President Joe Biden and reflects Trump's restrictive view of immigration and humanitarian protection.

Articles tagged with "humanitarian protection"

Freed activists allege Greta Thunberg mistreated in Israeli custody

Trump administration planning 7,500-person refugee ceiling, sources say