Italy and Spain intervene to ensure Gaza flotilla’s safety in the Mediterranean after drones drop ‘flashbang’ explosive devices.
Spain and Italy have sent naval ships into the Mediterranean Sea, charged with protecting the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which is carrying aid towards Gaza.
Italy said on Thursday that it is sending a second ship, while Spain said its navy will also act. Rome dispatched a frigate the previous day following a drone attack on the GSF in international waters after it came under drone attack en route to Gaza to deliver aid.
“We have sent one ship and another is on its way, ready for any eventuality,” Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in a speech to the lower house of parliament.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday that his country’s navy will join Italy in sending warships.
Speaking to reporters in New York on Wednesday, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Sanchez said international law must be respected and the citizens of 45 nations participating in the aid mission had every right to sail in the Mediterranean unharmed.
“The government of Spain demands that international law be complied with and that the right of its citizens to navigate the Mediterranean under safe conditions be respected,” he said.
“Tomorrow we will dispatch a naval vessel from Cartagena with all necessary resources in case it is necessary to assist the flotilla and carry out a rescue operation.”
Activists reported a wave of attacks on Wednesday night by Israeli drones and aircraft targeting vessels in what flotilla organisers described as “an alarmingly dangerous escalation”.
Multiple boats were targeted by the low-flying drones, which dropped flashbang-type explosive devices and other “unidentified objects” on and near boats, passengers on board said.
Deliberate radio jamming had also caused “widespread obstruction in communications” among the ships, they added.
As news of the drone attack emerged, the Italian navy said it would dispatch a frigate to assist in any rescue operations involving the flotilla as Crosetto condemned the overnight attacks.
Two lawmakers from Italy’s left-wing opposition are participating in the flotilla, which is now reported to be made up of some 50 civilian boats that are loaded with aid supplies and are hoping to break Israel’s sea blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also weighed in, noting that “Italian citizens, along with members of parliament and MEPs”, are in the flotilla, which also includes human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, and Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
“To ensure their safety, the foreign ministry had already notified Israeli authorities that any operation entrusted to Israeli forces must be conducted in compliance with international law and the principle of absolute caution,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Minister Tajani has asked the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to gather information and to reiterate its previous request to the Israeli government to guarantee the absolute protection of the personnel on board,” it said.
In a statement, the GSF said the repeated attempts by Israel to use such tactics to intimidate the participants would not work, and it issued a call to UN member states attending the UNGA to place the attacks on the agenda for talks.
Thunberg, who is making her second attempt to break Israel’s maritime siege of Gaza, told the Reuters news agency on Monday that drones stalk the flotilla every night.
“This mission is about Gaza, it isn’t about us. And no risks that we could take could even come close to the risks the Palestinians are facing every day,” she said in a video call on board a ship.
However, while sending the naval ships, Rome also called on the activists to take care to remain in international waters.
Crosetto warned the flotilla against trying to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza, urging them instead to accept an Italian proposal that they hand over the aid they are carrying to be distributed by the Catholic Church in Gaza.
“We cannot guarantee the safety of our fellow citizens if they enter the territorial waters of other countries,” he said.
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