Damaged boats, communications blocked in drone attacks against Gaza Flatilla, say activists

Activists participating in a flotilla seeking to break the Israeli Blocus in Gaza said on Wednesday that some of their boats had been damaged by drones during the night while sailing in the south of Greece.

Global Sumud Flatilla said that he had been attacked during the night by “drones and unidentified communications.” He said that at least 13 explosions “were heard on and around several flotilla boats, while drones or planes have dropped” unidentified objects “on at least 10 boats.

No victim has been reported, but there have been damage to ships and “generalized obstruction in communications,” he added.

Activists have published a brief video on the Flotilla social media account showing what seemed to be an explosion on or near one of the ships. The Coast Guard of Greece has not reported any call for distress.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeated an invitation to Flotilla to abandon humanitarian aid in an Israeli port, leaving the Israeli authorities to take it to Gaza, or in front of consequences.

“Israel will not allow ships to enter an active combat zone and will not allow any violation of the legal naval blockade,” said a statement from the ministry.

This did not comment on the fact that he was responsible for drones.

The EU warns against any force used

Italy condemned the attack and activated a naval frigate to be on the spot for possible rescue operations, said Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.

Crosetto said that the Italian Navy frigate Fasan, which sailed north of Crete, “was already heading to the area any rescue operations”. Italy informed Israel of the decision.

“In a democracy, demonstrations and forms of protest must also be protected when carried out in accordance with international law and without resorting to violence,” said Crosetto.

Italy had warned Israel to respect the rights of Italian activists participating in the flotilla. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told legislators earlier this month he had personally called the Israeli Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar about the case.

Tajani said at the time that 58 Italians participated in the flotilla, including certain legislators.

The European Union has also warned against any strength used.

“Freedom of navigation under international law must be confirmed. … So no attack, no drone strike, no crisis. Any use of force against the flotilla is not acceptable,” said Eva Hrncirova, EU spokesperson. “We respect the humanitarian commitment of the people who are on the flotilla.”

The spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office Thameen Al-Kheetan called for an “independent, impartial and in-depth investigation into attacks and harassment reported by drones and other objects” against the flotilla.

“Attacks and threats to those who try to provide help and support the hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza who suffer from famine and famine challenge belief,” added Al-Kheetan.

“ Frightening tactic ”, says the activist

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who is aboard one of the boats in the flotilla, qualified the strikes as “scoring tactics” and implored supporters of the flotilla to stay concentrated on Gaza rather than on militants navigating in the Mediterranean Sea. She said that damage to the fleet was being evaluated.

“We were aware of the risks of this kind of attack and it is not something that will stop us,” said Thunberg during a livestream on Wednesday morning.

“The most important thing is not that we have been struck by drones. Drones are something that Palestinians experience 24-7,” she added.

Look | The Canadian law professor describes a previous attack on Gaza World Flotilla: Sumud:

The Canadian describes the attack on the Sumud Global Sumud for Gaza

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) said that one of its main boats had been struck by a drone in a port in Tunisia. The flotilla sought to break the naval blockade of Israel and to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza torn by war using civil boats. Canadian law professor Heidi Matthews is part of a legal support ship traveling alongside the flotilla and describes the suspected drone attack.

Simone Zambrin, an Italian Flotilla militant, said drones “have been flying over our heads for days now” and Wednesday “have dropped aircraft on our boats, damaging the sails and the audience of some of our crew members”.

“We expected it because it is a rhetoric that is part of what Israel is trying to do with regard to missions like ours,” said Zambrin. “He tries to instill fear because he is afraid of our arrival.”

The flotilla, made up of dozens of boats from several countries, has a symbolic quantity of humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, for Palestinians in Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry accused the organizers of being linked to Hamas and said that it proposed that activists unload their aid in the Israeli Port of Ashkelon to be transported to Gaza.

“Israel will not allow ships to enter an active combat zone and will not allow violation of a legal naval blockade,” the ministry said on Monday. “Israel urges participants not to break the law and accept Israel’s proposal for a peaceful transfer of any aid they may have.”

Several attacks reported since Flotilla has set sail

Flotilla has reported several attacks since it put the sails of Spain on September 1, including two while some of its boats were in Tunisian waters.

The convoy is pretended to be the greatest attempt to date to break the Israeli maritime blockage of the Gaza Strip, which has now lasted 18 years, prior to the current war in Gaza.

The almost two -year war killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The ministry does not say how much civilians or combatants were, but says that more than half have been women and children.

The main global authority on hunger crises said last month that the blockade of Israel and the current offensive had already pushed Gaza City into famine. More than 300,000 people have fled the city in recent weeks because Israel has ordered the population to move south, but about 700,000 remain, according to United Nations agencies and aid groups.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when activists led by Hamas led an attack inside Israel who killed 1,200 people, most civilians, and saw around 250 people taken hostage. Israel says that its operation in Gaza aims to put pressure on Hamas to go and return the remaining 48 hostages. Israel believes that about 20 of the captives are still alive.

This is not the first time that activists trying to break the Israeli Gaza blockade have been attacked.

Another ship said he had been attacked by drones in May in international waters off Malta. A land convoy traveling through North Africa also tried to reach the border, but was blocked by security forces aligned on Egypt in eastern Libya.

In 2010, Israeli commandos made a descent into Mavi Marmara, a boat participating in a help of aid attempting to break the blockade of Gaza, killing 10 Turkish activists on board.