Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is facing backlash after using an image of an emaciated Israeli hostage in an Instagram post allegedly showing the suffering of Palestinians.
The message 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 know boundaries.” It also contained three images, including one of hostage Evyatar David, who was taken from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.
The image of David was a still image from a Hamas propaganda video. In the video, David appears extremely weak as he describes conditions in captivity, saying he hasn’t eaten in days. The part of the video that shocked many was when David’s captors forced him to dig his own grave.
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Swedish activist Greta Thunberg prepares to depart with other activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian expedition to Gaza, at the port of Barcelona, Spain, August 31, 2025. (Eva Manez/Reuters)
Yeela David, Evyatar’s sister, responded to the post, saying Thunberg should do his research before posting “things you don’t understand.” She then added, “Every minute you don’t delete the message you become 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. However, the comments section is full of reminders that his image was there, with users decrying the ‘lies’ shown in the post.
The slides were part of a collaborative post with Thunberg, Freedom Flotilla Coalition Steering Committee Member Yasmin Acar; the Gaza Sumud Flotilla and two other accounts.
Greta Thunberg is facing backlash after using a photo of starving hostage Evyatar David in a post claiming to depict the plight of Palestinians. (@IsraelMFA/X)
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The first slide of the message read: “The world is rightly shocked by what the hostages of the Sumud Flotilla are having to endure,” referring to prisoners arrested when Israel intercepted their flotilla last week. “Their suffering is real and no human being should ever be subjected to such pain, fear or humiliation.” The post then compares this to the plight of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, with activists claiming that more than 11,000 Palestinian “hostages and prisoners” were being held in unsanitary and inhumane conditions.
The group also included a 2015 video in their post that featured Ahmad Manasra, who was 13 at the time. Manasra was arrested in 2015 in connection with a stabbing in Jerusalem during what is often called the ‘Knife Intifada’. The Jerusalem Post.
Galia David, mother of Israeli hostage Evyatar David, poses with an image of her son in her hands during a press conference after a meeting with the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at the Red Cross headquarters in Geneva, on August 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 David’s still image, declaring, “Ignorance blinded by hate is trending.”
“Greta Thunberg reported on ‘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 next to an Israeli soldier after naval forces intercepted a flotilla bound for Gaza. (Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
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Thunberg, who became known for her climate activism while still in high school, has become an outspoken critic of Israel since the start of the war in Gaza. She has taken part in two relief flotillas to Gaza, both of which were intercepted by Israeli forces.
