The Night of Gas and Kicks… Greta’s Testimony That Unmasked “Tel Aviv” to the West

NYN | Reports and Analyses 

Greta Thunberg never imagined that her trip to the Eastern Mediterranean — to take part in the “Global Freedom Flotilla” aimed at breaking the siege on Gaza — would become one of the most harrowing experiences of her life.

The Swedish climate activist, long known for her environmental protests, suddenly found herself behind bars, facing what she described as “degrading and inhumane” treatment at the hands of Israeli occupation forces.

In a testimony that sparked widespread outrage across human rights platforms, Greta recounted:

“They beat me and kicked me multiple times. This wasn’t just an arrest — it was deliberate humiliation because we wanted to bring food and medicine to the children of Gaza.”

Greta described how Israeli guards not only used physical violence, but also destroyed her belongings and defaced her luggage with vulgar insults and religiously offensive symbols. She added somberly:

“They wanted us to be afraid, to stay silent. But all I could think about were the mothers waiting for us in Gaza.”

In further details, she revealed that Israeli authorities confiscated and discarded medications and medical supplies belonging to other volunteers, leaving some of them — including individuals with chronic illnesses — without treatment.

“They denied us water, food, and sleep,” she said. “They wanted to break our will before we even reached Gaza.”

Most disturbing, Thunberg recalled, was a night when guards stormed the cells, shouting:

“We’ll gas you if you don’t stop screaming.”

She described the moment as terrifying — especially with elderly people and women among the detainees.

Behind those prison walls, Greta wasn’t alone. Volunteers from 17 countries stood beside her, united in a single humanitarian mission: to help end the blockade on Gaza. But, as she put it, they came out with “a deeper understanding of occupation and institutionalized violence.”

Now released, Thunberg speaks not only as an environmental activist, but also as a witness to human rights violations. In her concluding remarks, she stated:

“Gaza was not just a symbol of suffering. It became a mirror reflecting what the world hides behind slogans of freedom and democracy.”

She added that her experience has driven her to call for an international investigation into the treatment of foreign activists in Israeli prisons, stressing:

“The voices of victims must not be buried behind walls.”

This is Greta Thunberg — a global figure known to cameras and platforms — who, in just a few hours, experienced a glimpse of what countless defenseless Palestinians endure daily behind bars.

So what of those with no voice and no platform? How many Palestinian prisoners have suffered worse? How many have lost their identity, their medicine, their dignity — in the cells of Israeli occupation, far from the eyes of the world?