Greta Thunberg Among Aid Workers Seized by Israel — Is She Still in Jail?

There are few people whose name garners international respect quite like Greta Thunberg. At just 22 years old, Greta has been an international sensation for a decade after boldly speaking out on the issue of climate change since she was a child.

These days, she's focused on providing humanitarian relief to Palestinians living under Israeli siege in Gaza.

In an attempt to ease the suffering caused by the genocide in Gaza, Greta and other tireless aid workers have been running a flotilla of supplies to Palestinians, hoping to provide the most basic support, such as food, water, and medicine.

But Greta and others ran afoul of the Israeli military during an October 2025 run. So, is she currently in jail?

Greta and other aid workers were on the Global Sumud Flotilla, comprised of humanitarian workers from dozens of countries, when they attempted to run an Israeli blockade to deliver supplies to besieged Palestinians in Gaza.

Greta was arrested along with 470 other flotilla participants, according to PBS.

For days, the world wondered about the fate of the aid workers as rumors spread of their mistreatment, with online rumors suggesting that they were being subjected to everything from beatings and deprivation to bedbugs and more.

However, Greta is no longer in jail. She was released on Oct. 6, 2025. Greta and 171 other workers were deported from Israel and landed in Athens, Greece, following their release.

PBS reports that Israel denies rumors of mistreatment, and Greta seemed to be in apparent good health when she took to social media to share her post-incarceration message to the world shortly after being released.

But Greta has cautioned the world not to focus on her. After landing in Athens, PBS reports that Greta told reporters, "That this mission has to exist, it’s a shame! It is a shame!” She added, “I could talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment, trust me, but that is not the story."

Later, she took to Instagram to give more context for her comments. Greta was grateful for the concern over her and other aid workers, but cautioned people to keep their eyes on Gaza and refuse to be distracted by the media's attempts to center her and other aid workers.

Greta explained that the world knows that, despite efforts at rewriting history, the aggressions in Gaza did not start in 2023, and scolded the international community for funding and legitimizing Israel's actions in Gaza.

While followers were relieved to see Greta free and back to work on her efforts to help Palestinians, the question now remains as to what comes next.

With Israel becoming increasingly focused on stopping the flotilla's aid and things in Gaza becoming more dire by the day, the international community has to decide which side of history it wants to stand on; and Greta clearly knows which one she hopes they choose.