A woman gestures aboard a boat, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla aiming to reach Gaza and break Israel’s naval blockade, as it sails off Crete, September 25, 2025. [Stefanos Rapanis/Reuters]
The Greek and Italian governments have called on Israel not to hurt activists aboard an international flotilla, which is bracing for Israeli action to prevent it from delivering aid to Gaza.
“[We] are calling on the Israeli authorities to ensure the safety and security of the participants and to allow for all consular protection measures,” a joint statement issued by the foreign ministers in the two countries said.
Athens and Rome also called on activists to accept a compromise proposal to hand over aid to the Catholic Church, letting it distribute it in Gaza, and avoid a direct confrontation with Israel.
“Thanks to the diplomatic initiative of US President Donald J. Trump, for the first time there is a concrete possibility of ending this brutal conflict and the suffering of the Palestinian population, including through full humanitarian access,” the statement said.
“Greece and Italy reaffirm the need to guarantee humanitarian access to Gaza and reach a ceasefire as soon as possible. At this delicate juncture, everyone must refrain from initiatives that could be exploited by those who still reject peace.”
Flotilla members have repeatedly rejected the proposal to hand over aid to the Catholic Church, saying that a key part of their mission is to challenge and expose Israel’s naval blockade on Gaza, which they consider unlawful.
The Global Sumud Flotilla consists of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 people, among them parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
The flotilla said Israeli vessels approached some of its boats and engaged in “dangerous and intimidatory maneuvers” on Wednesday as it neared the war-stricken strip.
The mission’s organizers said two Israeli “warships” had approached fast and encircled two of the flotilla’s boats, Alma and Sirius. All navigation and communication devices went down in what one organizer on board, Thiago Ávila, described in a press conference as a “cyberattack”.
The flotilla appeared to have recovered some communications. Israeli officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
‘Dangerous maneuvers,’ drone attack
The mission is the latest sea-borne attempt to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave to deliver food and medicine. It is currently within 120 nautical miles of Gaza’s coast, inside an area that Israel is policing to stop any boats approaching.
It expects to arrive on Thursday morning if not intercepted.
“These hostile actions placed unarmed civilians from over 40 countries in grave danger,” the flotilla said in a statement, adding that it will continue its course towards Gaza.
It was not clear who operated the vessels that approached the flotilla. A video post on the flotilla’s Instagram page showed the silhouetted outline of what appeared to be a military vessel with a gun turret near the civilian boats.
Reuters confirmed that the video was filmed from the vessel Sirius because its rigging and lines matched file imagery of the boat. Reuters could not confirm the identity of the other vessel in the video or when the video was taken.
The flotilla has raised tensions in recent days since it was attacked by drones, which dropped stun grenades and itching powder on the vessels, causing damage but no injuries.
Israel did not comment on that attack, but has said it will use any means to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza, arguing that its naval blockade is legal as it battles Hamas militants in the coastal enclave.
Italy and Spain deployed naval ships to help with any rescue or humanitarian needs but have said they will not engage militarily. Turkish drones have also followed the boats.
However, Italy and Spain said they would stop following the flotilla once it got within 150 nautical miles (278 km) of Gaza for safety reasons.
Past attempts to deliver aid
At the press conference held by organizers on Wednesday, Francesca Albanese, the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, said any interception of the flotilla “would be yet another violation of international law, the law of the sea” since Israel had no legal jurisdiction on waters off Gaza.
Israel has imposed a naval blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007 and there have been several previous attempts by activists to deliver aid to Gaza by sea, both during the latest conflict and others.
In 2010, nine activists were killed after Israeli soldiers boarded a flotilla of six ships manned by 700 pro-Palestinian militants from 50 countries.
In June this year, Israeli naval forces detained Thunberg and 11 crewmembers on a small ship organized by a pro-Palestinian group called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as they approached Gaza. [Reuters]