The activists had set out to protest Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of aid.

Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was deported from Israel on Tuesday, the day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza.

The environmental campaigner was sent home after she and others on the intercepted vessel said they were trying to deliver food and medical supplies.