Middle East updates: Greta Thunberg deported from Israel

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his country condemns the sanctions imposed by the UK, Canada, Norway, New Zealand and Australia against far-right Israeli politicians Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

"These sanctions do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war," Rubio posted on his X account.

"The United States urges the reversal of the sanctions and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel," Rubio added.

The five countries imposed sanctions against the two politicians for inciting "extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights."

Israel has canceled a waiver that had allowed Israeli banks to work with Palestinian ones, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a statement on Tuesday, in a move which threatens to paralyze financing in the Palestinian territories.

The overwhelming majority of exchanges in the occupied West Bank are in shekels, Israel's national currency, because the Palestinian Authority does not have a central bank that would allow it to print its own currency.

Smotrich's office said in a statement the decision was taken "against the backdrop of the Palestinian Authority's delegitimization campaign against the State of Israel internationally."

The Palestinian financial and banking system is dependent on the regular renewal of the Israeli waiver, as it protects Israeli banks from potential legal action relating to transactions with their Palestinian counterparts, including the risk of being charged with money laundering and funding extremism. 

In July, G7 countries urged Israel to "take necessary action" to ensure the continuity of Palestinian financial systems. 

Argentine President Javier Milei made his second official state visit to Israel on Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the South American a "true friend," highlighting that the Hebrew word for friend sounded similar to Javier.

Milei's trip comes as criticism has mounted against Israel from other world leaders over the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 

But the Argentine president was there to support the Israeli government, with Milei telling President Isaac Herzog that "as a nation, we want to stand firm alongside you as you go through these dark days."

"We will not yield to criticism resulting from cowardice or complicity with barbarism," he added.

During his trip, Milei will meet with relatives of Argentine-Israeli citizens who were kidnapped by Hamas militants and taken to Gaza on October 7, 2023. 

He is also expected to address a session of Israel's parliament.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said that she and others were "kidnapped" by Israel after the Madleen ship she was traveling on was seized by Israel.

Activists said that they aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which is facing a large-scale humanitarian crisis and the risk of famine amid Israel's offensive in the territory.

"I was very clear in my testimony that we were kidnapped on international waters and brought against our own will into Israel," Thunberg told reporters at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli authorities said that Thunberg had boarded a flight leaving Israel for France.

"This is yet another intentional violation of rights that is added to the list of countless other violations that Israel is committing," Thunberg said in Paris, adding that her experience was "nothing compared to what the Palestinians are going through."

Thunberg said that the team involved in the mission had carried out a risk assessment ahead of 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 activists would continue to attempt to deliver aid to Gaza.

The UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway announced sanctions against two Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, on Tuesday.

Ben-Gvir serves as national security minister and is a member of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party, while Finance Minister Smotrich heads the far-right Religious Zionism party.

Last month, Smotrich called for Gaza to be entirely "destroyed" and for Palestinian civilians to leave the enclave, while also expressing hope Israel would soon annex the occupied West Bank.

The five countries said the two Israeli lawmakers "have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights."

The UK Foreign Ministry said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich will have their assets frozen and subject to a travel ban.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the reported decision to sanction Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, describing it as "outrageous" and "unacceptable."

Israel has been met with increasing criticism from its allies over the latest phase in its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

In May, the UK issued a joint statement alongside Canada and France voicing opposition to "the expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that six French citizens that had been aboard the Gaza-bound Madleen ship had been detained by Israel.

The boat, sent by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition organization, was carrying humanitarian aid. It was seized by the Israeli military on Monday.

Barrot said that one of the French citizens had agreed to leave Israel voluntarily and would arrive in France later on Tuesday.

The other five would be subject to Israeli deportation proceedings, he said.

Also aboard the ship was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who Israel said was on her way to Sweden via France.

The Israeli navy struck the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on Tuesday, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel's military said in a statement that the operation struck targets belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group.

Houthi-run broadcaster al-Masirah said Israel targeted the Hodeidah port with two strikes.

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has threatened Yemen with a naval and aerial blockade.

"Israel's long arm in the air and at sea will reach everywhere," Katz said in a post on X.

"We warned the Houthi terror organization that if they continue to fire toward Israel, they will face a powerful response and will be subjected to a naval and aerial blockade," the minister warned.

The Houthis have fired dozens of drones and missiles toward Israel and have also fired at international shipping lanes in the Red Sea, saying the acts are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

An independent United Nations commission investigating the Palestinian territories said Israeli attacks on schools and religious and cultural sites in Gaza amount to war crimes.

"Israel has obliterated Gaza's education system and destroyed over half of all religious and cultural sites in the Gaza Strip," said the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian territories.

The report accused Israel of "directing attacks against civilians" and engaging in "willful killing."

"In killing civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites, Israeli security forces committed the crime against humanity of extermination," it said.

Commission chair Navi Pillay said in a statement that the actions indicated Israel was carrying out a campaign to destroy "Palestinian life" in the beleaguered enclave.

"We are seeing more and more indications that Israel is carrying out a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza," she said.

What is the situation in Gaza?

Israel has seen increasing international condemnation over its offensive in the Gaza Strip, which it has placed under blockade.

Earlier this month, UN human rights chief Volker Türk demanded an investigation after witnesses and relief workers said the Israeli military had fired on Palestinian civilians lining up for aid deliveries.

Israel has said it is working to destroy the Hamas militant group in Gaza, which launched attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, around two-thirds of them civilians, and taking some 250 people hostage.

Israel's Foreign Ministry has said Swedish activist Greta Thunberg boarded a flight to France on her way back to her home country.

It comes after the Gaza-bound ship she was on, the Madleen, was seized by the Israeli military on Monday.

The Foreign Ministry posted images on the platform X showing Thunberg boarding a flight.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group that organized the journey, said the Madleen was seized early on Monday around 200 kilometers (125 miles) off of the coast of Gaza.

The group issued a statement saying that Israel did not have any "legal authority" to detain the activists on the ship, arguing that they "cannot be criminalized for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade."

Israel has sought to portray the campaign as a social media stunt, with the Foreign Ministry describing it as a "selfie yacht" carrying "celebrities."

Israel's military has seized a ship carrying humanitarian aid that was headed for the Gaza Strip, which is under an Israeli blockade.

On board the British-flagged Madleen boat were Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and several others, including multiple French citizens.

France's Foreign Ministry said one of its citizens had agreed to return to France voluntarily, while five others remained in Israel to face deportation proceedings.

Israel said Thunberg was en route to Sweden, via France.

We'll bring you the latest developments on the situation in Gaza and the wider Middle East region on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.