Middle East updates: Greta Thunberg deported from Israel

• Israel's military seized a Gaza-bound ship carrying aid and with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and others on board
• Israeli Foreign Ministry has said Thunberg was deported to France after ship was seized
• Israel has struck Yemen's Hodeidah port

This blog covers the latest developments on the situation in Gaza, Israel and the wider Middle East region on Tuesday, June 10, 2025:

06/10/2025June 10, 2025

Israel strikes Yemen's Hodeidah port

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.

06/10/2025June 10, 2025

UN commission accuses Israel of war crime of 'extermination' 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," 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.

06/10/2025June 10, 2025

Greta Thunberg on flight to France — Israel

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 in a post.

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."

06/10/2025June 10, 2025

Welcome to our coverage

Saim Dušan Inayatullah | Kieran Burke

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.