Greece rescues more than 500 asylum seekers off coast of Crete

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by Al Jazeera StaffDecember 19, 2025 at 10:54 PM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

On December 19, 2025, the Greek coastguard rescued nearly 540 asylum seekers from a fishing boat south of Crete, near Gavdos. The individuals, originating from countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, and the occupied Palestinian territory, will have their asylum claims processed after health checks in Rethymno. In a separate incident the previous day, Frontex rescued 70 asylum seekers from two boats in distress off Gavdos. Both Crete and Gavdos have experienced an increase in asylum boats, many departing from countries like Libya. Greece, a primary entry point during the 2015-2016 migration surge, will be eligible for EU assistance under the new migration and asylum pact next June.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Frontex 40% Rethymno 40% European Union ×250% Pakistan 60% Bangladesh 60% Crete ×370% Greece ×680%

Keywords

asylum seekers 100% greece 90% rescue 80% migration 70% crete 70% coastguard 60% eu migration pact 50% frontex 50% gavdos 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Neutral

Score: 0.10

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Greece

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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asylum seekers greece rescue migration crete coastguard eu migration pact frontex gavdos

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