Italy and Spain have deployed navy ships to assist a Gaza-bound aid flotilla after organisers reported that several of their boats had been targeted by drones off Greece.
Spanish Prime Minister (PM) Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday that Spain would send a navy ship to the area.
“We are concerned, and that is why we will be deploying a ship to ensure that, if necessary, our citizens can be rescued and brought back to Spain,” Sanchez told a news conference in New York, adding that the ship would depart on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said the country sent a navy frigate to assist the flotilla on Wednesday. “To ensure assistance to the Italian citizens on the flotilla […] I spoke with the prime minister and authorised the immediate intervention of the Italian Navy’s multi-purpose frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete as part of Operation Safe Sea,” Crosetto said in a statement posted by the ministry on X.
“The vessel is already en route to the area for possible rescue operations,” he said.
Earlier, the Global Sumud Flotilla said more than a dozen explosions were heard around the flotilla as it sailed off Greece late on Tuesday, with damage caused by “unidentified objects” dropped on deck.
Crosetto expressed “the strongest condemnation” of the “attack” on the flotilla using “drones by currently unidentified perpetrators”.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had asked Israel to ensure the safety of Italian citizens, along with members of parliament among the pro-Palestinian activists.
The ministry had already informed Israel that “any operation entrusted to Israeli forces must be conducted in compliance with international law and the principle of absolute caution”.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, which currently numbers 51 vessels, most of which are off the Greek island of Crete, set sail from Barcelona earlier this month with the aim of breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza and delivering aid to the territory.
Israel, which blocked two previous attempts by activists to reach Gaza by sea in June and July, said it would not allow the flotilla to reach the embattled Palestinian territory.