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Twenty-seven Greek citizens detained by Israel after participating in a Gaza aid flotilla will return home Monday on a special flight, Greece's foreign ministry announced Sunday, as competing demonstrations unfolded in the capital.
The ministry said a Greek embassy delegation had visited the 27 detainees, who took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli military in international waters this week.
"All of them are in good health and are receiving all necessary support," the ministry said in a statement. The citizens will depart on a special flight from Eilat-Ramon International Airport to Athens.
The flotilla, which set sail last month carrying politicians and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aimed to deliver aid to Gaza, where the United Nations says famine conditions are worsening. Israeli naval military began intercepting the vessels Wednesday, with an Israeli official reporting that boats carrying more than 400 people were prevented from reaching the Palestinian territory.
Sunday's repatriation announcement came as Athens witnessed dueling demonstrations marking the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the current conflict.
Outside the Israeli embassy, several dozen people gathered to commemorate victims of the assault, including those killed at the Nova music festival. "Today we will honour the dead and victims of the Nova festival, where I personally lost many friends, and among the hostages," said Tatiana Papadopoulou, a 48-year-old private-sector employee who attended the memorial.
"We hope the hostages will return home under the new (peace) plan that is on the table," she told AFP.
The October 7 attack killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures compiled by AFP. Nearly 400 died at the Nova music festival in Reim, southern Israel alone.
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Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza has resulted in at least 67,074 Palestinian deaths, mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures from the Hamas-controlled territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at Athens's central Syntagma Square, drawing several thousand demonstrators who were kept at a distance from the Israeli embassy by riot police.
"We will do our best here in Greece and around the world to stop the genocide," said Christos Papaconstantinou, a 28-year-old computer programmer. "It has to stop as quickly as possible.... Now, very slowly, some governments are reacting, but it's much too slow," added Gigi Gommers, a Dutch real estate renovator living in Greece.
The aid flotilla interception marks the latest incident in ongoing tensions over humanitarian access to Gaza, where international organizations have struggled to deliver sufficient supplies amid the continuing conflict.
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