{"id":252908,"date":"2025-09-25T06:01:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T06:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/252908\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T06:01:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T06:01:14","slug":"gaza-bound-flotilla-says-it-was-attacked-by-drones-as-italy-and-spain-send-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/252908\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza-bound flotilla says it was attacked by drones, as Italy and Spain send help"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATHENS, Greece (AP) \u2014 Activists in a flotilla seeking to break Israel\u2019s blockade of Gaza<\/a> said Wednesday that some of their boats were attacked by drones south of Greece<\/a>, prompting Spain and Italy to send navy vessels for possible rescues.<\/p>\n

The Global Sumud Flotilla said it was attacked during the night by \u201cunidentified drones and communications jamming.\u201d It said that \u201cat least 13 explosions\u201d were heard on and around several flotilla boats, while drones or aircraft dropped \u201cunidentified objects\u201d on at least 10 boats. <\/p>\n

No casualties were reported but there was damage to the vessels and \u201cwidespread obstruction in communications,\u201d it added. Activists posted a brief video showing what appeared to be an explosion on or near one of the vessels. Greece\u2019s coast guard did not report any distress calls. <\/p>\n

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions regarding the attack.<\/p>\n

The flotilla, which organizers say includes about 50 vessels and participants from dozens of countries, is carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, for Palestinians in Gaza.<\/p>\n

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has accused organizers of being linked to Hamas, an accusation organizers reject. Israel has proposed that the activists unload their aid in the Israeli port of Ashkelon for it to be transported into Gaza, saying it will not accept any breach of its blockade.<\/p>\n

Italy and Spain sending navy patrol vessels<\/p>\n

Italy condemned the attack and activated a navy frigate to be on hand for possible rescue operations, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said.<\/p>\n

Crosetto said the frigate Fasan was heading to the area from its position north of Crete \u201cfor possible rescue operations.\u201d Italy has informed Israel about the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a democracy, demonstrations and forms of protest must also be protected when they are carried out in accordance with international law and without resorting to violence,\u201d Crosetto said.<\/p>\n

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez said Spain also will send a patrol vessel to assist the flotilla, or carry out a rescue. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Spanish Government demands that international law be complied with and that the right of our citizens to navigate the Mediterranean safely be respected,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said Monday in New York.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s Foreign Ministry meanwhile said its computer systems had been overwhelmed by a \u201cmail bombing\u201d campaign in which thousands of what it said were fake emails flooded its servers after the attack on the flotilla.<\/p>\n

Earlier Wednesday, the Global Sumud Flotilla had sent out an urgent appeal to its supporters asking them to email the ministry demanding it take a firm position to condemn the attack on the flotilla and put diplomatic pressure on those responsible.<\/p>\n

The emails \u201chad the effect of hindering the work\u201d of the ministry\u2019s crisis unit, which has been the main point of contact for Italian citizens aboard the flotilla, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Italian officials have said 58 Italians were in the flotilla, including some lawmakers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Supporters<\/p>\n

Supporters watch as a boat that is part of the Global Sumud Flotilla departs to Gaza to deliver aid amidst Israel\u2019s blockade on the Palestinian territory, in the Tunisian port of Bizerte, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (AP Photo\/Anis Mili)<\/p>\n

Supporters watch as a boat that is part of the Global Sumud Flotilla departs to Gaza to deliver aid amidst Israel\u2019s blockade on the Palestinian territory, in the Tunisian port of Bizerte, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (AP Photo\/Anis Mili)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The European Union also warned against the use of any force. \u201cThe freedom of navigation under international law must be upheld,\u201d said Eva Hrncirova, a European Commission spokesperson. <\/p>\n

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan called for an investigation.<\/p>\n

Defiant activists<\/p>\n

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who is on board one of the boats, called the strikes a \u201cscare tactic\u201d that wasn\u2019t going to stop the flotilla.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing isn\u2019t that we were hit by drones,\u201d Thunberg said on a livestream, adding that the focus should remain on Gaza. \u201cDrones are something that Palestinians experience 24-7.\u201d<\/p>\n

Italian activist Simone Zambrin said drones \u201chave been flying over our heads for days now\u201d and on Wednesday \u201cdropped devices at our boats, damaging both the sails and the hearing of some of our crew members.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said Israel was trying \u201cto instill fear because it is afraid of our arrival.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greg Stoker, an American activist on one of the boats, said online that the vessel\u2019s radio communications suffered interference, with the jammers playing an ABBA song over the radio channel the flotilla was using.<\/p>\n

Attacks on the flotilla<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Italian fleet of the Global Sumud Flotilla departs from the port of Siracusa, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Sebastiano Diamante\/LaPresse via AP)<\/p>\n

The Italian fleet of the Global Sumud Flotilla departs from the port of Siracusa, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Sebastiano Diamante\/LaPresse via AP)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The flotilla has reported several attacks since it set sail from Spain on Sept. 1, including two while some of its boats were in Tunisian waters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Activists say it\u2019s the largest attempt to date to break the Israeli maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has now lasted 18 years, long predating the current war in Gaza. Israel says the blockade is needed to keep Hamas from importing arms, while critics consider it collective punishment.<\/p>\n

The almost two-year war has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says around half were women and children.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s leading authority on hunger crises said last month that Israel\u2019s blockade and ongoing offensive had already pushed Gaza City into famine<\/a>. More than 300,000 people have fled the city in recent weeks as Israel has ordered the population to move south, but an estimated 700,000 remain, according to U.N. agencies and aid groups.<\/p>\n

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Israel says its operation in Gaza is aimed at pressuring Hamas to surrender and return the remaining 48 hostages, about 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive. Most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.<\/p>\n

Activists have launched several flotillas aimed at breaking the blockade over the years, nearly all of them intercepted by Israel. Another vessel said it was attacked by drones in May<\/a> in international waters off Malta. An overland convoy traveling across North Africa<\/a> also attempted to reach the border but was blocked by security forces aligned with Egypt in eastern Libya.<\/p>\n

In 2010, Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara, a boat participating in an aid flotilla attempting to breach the maritime blockade of Gaza, killing 10 Turkish activists in clashes on board.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press journalists Samuel Metz in Rabat, Morocco; Nicole Winfield and Patricia Thomas in Rome; Samuel McNeil in Brussels; Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain and Suman Naishadham in Madrid contributed to this report. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATHENS, Greece (AP) \u2014 Activists in a flotilla seeking to break Israel\u2019s blockade of Gaza said Wednesday that…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":252909,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[97,75904,5755,133607,70,4526,57,133608,106224,133606,4527,99,3462,373,2219,3493,3463,50,8960,133605,128,8958,103,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-252908","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-2024-2025-mideast-wars","9":"tag-blockades","10":"tag-drones","11":"tag-eva-hrncirova","12":"tag-gaza","13":"tag-gaza-strip","14":"tag-general-news","15":"tag-greg-stoker","16":"tag-greta-thunberg","17":"tag-guido-crosetto","18":"tag-hamas","19":"tag-israel","20":"tag-israel-government","21":"tag-israel-hamas-war","22":"tag-italy","23":"tag-italy-government","24":"tag-mideast-wars","25":"tag-news","26":"tag-pedro-sanchez","27":"tag-simone-zambrin","28":"tag-spain","29":"tag-spain-government","30":"tag-world","31":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115263418318407099","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}