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Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is facing backlash after using an image of an emaciated Israeli hostage in an Instagram post allegedly showing Palestinians suffering.
The post read, “The suffering of Palestinian prisoners is not a matter of opinion — it is a fact of systemic cruelty and dehumanization. Humanity cannot be selective. Justice cannot have borders.” It also included three images, including one of hostage Evyatar David, who was taken from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023.
The image of David was a still frame from a Hamas propaganda video. In the video, David appears extremely frail as he describes the conditions in captivity and says he hasn’t eaten for days. The part of the video that shocked many was when David’s captors forced him to dig his own grave.
GRETA THUNBERG’S ALLEGED JAIL COMPLAINTS CALLED ‘BRAZEN LIES’ BY ISRAELI GOVERNMENT
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg prepares for departure with other activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian expedition to Gaza, at the port of Barcelona, Spain Aug. 31, 2025. (Eva Manez/Reuters)
Yeela David, Evyatar’s sister, commented on the post saying Thunberg needed to do research before posting “things you don’t understand.” She then added that, “every minute you are not deleting the post, you are becoming a bigger joke. Embarrassing.”
The post, which contained multiple images, appears to have since been edited and the slide with David’s image is no longer visible. The comment section, however, is full of reminders that his image was there with users decrying the “lies” showcased in the post.
The slides were part of a collaboration post with Thunberg, Yasmin Acar, a member of the steering committee of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition; the Gaza Sumud Flotilla and two other accounts.
Greta Thunberg is facing backlash after using a photo of starved hostage Evyatar David in a post claiming to depict the plight of Palestinians. (@IsraelMFA/X)
ISRAEL CLAIMS GRETA THUNBERG’S FLOTILLA SEEKING TO BREAK GAZA BLOCKADE HAS HAMAS TIES, CITES DOCUMENTS
The first slide of the post read, “The world is rightly horrified by what the Sumud Flotilla hostages are enduring,” referring to detainees arrested when Israel intercepted their fleet last week. “Their suffering is real and no human being should ever be subjected to such pain, fear or humiliation.” The post then goes on to compare this to the plight of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, with the activists asserting that over 11,000 Palestinian “hostages and prisoners” were held in unhygienic and inhumane conditions.
The group also included a video from 2015 in their post showing Ahmad Manasra, who was 13 at the time. Manasra was arrested in 2015 in connection with a Jerusalem stabbing attack during what is often called the “Knife Intifada,” according to The Jerusalem Post.
Galia David, mother of Israeli hostage Evyatar David poses holding an image of her son during a press conference following a meeting with the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at the Red Cross’ headquarters in Geneva, on Aug. 12, 2025. (AFP via Getty Images)
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a screenshot of the deleted slide next to a zoomed-in version of the still image of David, declaring, “Ignorance blinded by hate is trending.”
“Greta Thunberg posted about ‘Palestinian prisoners’ using the image of Israeli hostage Evyatar David – starved, abused, and forced by Palestinian Hamas to dig his own grave,” the ministry wrote on X.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg sits near an Israeli soldier after naval forces intercepted a Gaza-bound flotilla. (Israel Foreign Ministry)
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Thunberg, who became renowned for her climate activism while still in high school, has become a vocal critic of Israel since the war in Gaza began. She has participated in two Gaza-bound aid flotillas, both of which were intercepted by Israeli forces.
Fox News Digital reached out to Thunberg for comment.