Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has dispatched a navy frigate to assist a Gaza-bound aid flotilla after its organizers reported several of their vessels were targeted by drones off Greece.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which departed from Barcelona earlier this month with the aim of breaking Israel’s naval blockade and delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, said more than a dozen explosions were heard around its ships late Tuesday. The flotilla reported damage from “unidentified objects” dropped on the deck.
Crosetto stated that he had “authorized the immediate intervention of the Italian Navy’s multi-purpose frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete as part of Operation Safe Sea.” The minister confirmed the vessel is already en route for potential rescue operations.
The flotilla includes activists from 45 countries, including Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg. Stefano Bertoldi, an Italian activist with the climate group Ultima Generazione (Last Generation), said drones following the vessels had detonated explosive devices, causing damage to the boats and creating a risk of mast collapse. He issued several maydays during the attacks.
Crosetto condemned the attack in the “strongest terms,” noting that the perpetrators remain unidentified. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani urged Israel to ensure the safety of Italian citizens, parliamentarians, and MEPs on board. He stressed that any Israeli operations must comply with international law and the principle of absolute caution, and requested that the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv reiterate these protections to Israeli authorities.
Israel has previously blocked similar attempts to reach Gaza by sea and maintains that vessels will not be allowed to enter an active combat zone or breach the naval blockade. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein told AFP that humanitarian aid should instead be transferred to Ashkelon Marina for safe delivery to Gaza.
The flotilla currently comprises 51 vessels, most off the Greek island of Crete. Organizers report that boats waiting to join the mission have already been targeted in two suspected drone attacks in Tunisia. The Greek coastguard confirmed that a patrol vessel from the EU border agency Frontex inspected one ship and found no damage, though Frontex itself did not immediately comment.
Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which has a senator aboard one of the boats, called on the EU to protect vessels flying member-state flags through maritime escorts, including deployment of Frontex ships.
The pro-Palestinian Global Sumud Flotilla describes itself as independent, with no government or political affiliations. “Sumud” is an Arabic word meaning “resilience.”
The flotilla’s mission comes amid a major Israeli air and ground offensive in Gaza City aimed at Hamas. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 65,419 Palestinians—mostly civilians—have been killed during nearly two years of conflict, while Hamas’s attack that sparked the war led to 1,219 deaths, mainly civilians, based on Israeli figures tallied by AFP.
