Paris: Five out of six French citizens aboard a recently seized Gaza-bound aid ship will face a forced expulsion process by Israel, as announced by the French foreign minister. The announcement was made public on Tuesday, highlighting the international tensions surrounding the incident.

According to Anadolu Agency, the French foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, stated that the consul was able to meet the six French nationals who were arrested by Israeli authorities. The families of these individuals have been contacted. Barrot revealed that one of the French citizens has agreed to leave voluntarily and is expected to return to France shortly. However, the remaining five citizens will undergo a forced expulsion process. Barrot did not disclose the identity of the individual who has agreed to return voluntarily.

A source informed the broadcaster Franceinfo that Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament, has refused her expulsion. The aid ship, named Madleen, was seized by Israeli naval forces while sailing in international waters and subsequently redirected to the port of Ashdod.

The Madleen is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and had a crew of 12 on board, including notable figures such as Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan. Other activists on the ship included Yasemin Acar from Germany; Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, and Reva Viard from France; Thiago Avila from Brazil; Suayb Ordu from Turkey; Sergio Toribio from Spain; Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands; and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.