Italy and Spain send warships, warn Israel to safeguard Gaza flotilla after drone attacks

Italy on Wednesday told Israel to ensure the safety of participants in the Gaza-bound flotilla, after organizers said several of their boats had been targeted by multiple drones off Greece.

The country also said it was sending two warships to provide the pro-Palestinian activists with assistance.

Fellow NATO member Spain — where the flotilla departed from — announced it too would send a naval ship, which the country’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said was being deployed “to ensure that, if necessary, our citizens can be rescued and brought back.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday announced the dispatch of  one naval ship, clarifying that the vessel was not expected to use military force. She also called the activist maritime gambit “dangerous, irresponsible,” while condemning the drone harassment.

Her Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani noted there were “Italian citizens, along with members of parliament and MEPs” among the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which reported hearing more than a dozen nearby explosions as it sailed off Greece late Tuesday.

It also reported damage caused by “unidentified objects” dropped on deck.

“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,” it 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.

Tajani said at the time that 58 Italians were participating in the flotilla, including some lawmakers.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto activated a navy frigate to be on hand for possible rescue operations. Crosetto said the Italian Navy’s frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete, was “already heading towards the area for possible rescue operations.” Italy informed Israel about the decision.

“In 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,” Crosetto said on Wednesday.

The following day, he said Italy would send a second ship as well.

“We have sent one ship and another is on its way, ready for any eventuality,” Crosetto told the lower house of parliament. But he warned the activists against trying to break the Israeli blockade.

“We cannot guarantee the safety of our fellow citizens if they enter the territorial waters of other countries,” the defense minister said.

Speaking with journalists at UN headquarters in New York, Meloni said her government proposed handing over the flotilla’s aid to Cyprus and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Catholic Church’s Jerusalem leadership, to prevent further risks, rather than having the activists challenge Israel and attempt to deliver the aid themselves.

“There is no need to risk one’s own safety; it is not necessary to go to a war zone to deliver aid to Gaza, which the Italian government and the competent authorities could have delivered in a few hours,” Meloni said ahead of her speech at the General Assembly.

She added that Italy was expecting an answer from the Gaza flotilla activists about her compromise proposal.

Sanchez, who also in New York for the UN assembly, told reporters there that “the government of Spain insists that international law be respected and that the right of our citizens should be respected to sail through the Mediterranean in safe conditions.”

The United Nations called for an investigation into the alleged drone attacks, saying anyone responsible for the “violations” should be held accountable.

“There must be an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the reported attacks and harassment by drones and other objects” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Barcelona earlier this month with the aim of breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza and delivering symbolic aid to the territory.

It currently numbers 51 vessels, most of which are off the Greek island of Crete.

Vessels waiting to join the flotilla had already been targeted in two suspected drone attacks in Tunisia. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among those who boarded in the North African nation.

Thunberg on Wednesday called the strikes a “scare tactic” and implored the flotilla’s supporters to stay focused on Gaza rather than on the activists sailing in the Mediterranean Sea. She said that damage to the fleet was being assessed.

“We were aware of the risks of these kinds of attacks and that’s not something that’s going to stop us,” Thunberg said on a livestream on Wednesday morning.

“The most important thing isn’t that we were hit by drones. Drones are something that Palestinians experience 24-7,” she added.

Simone Zambrin, an Italian activist with the flotilla, said that drones “have been flying over our heads for days now” and on Wednesday “dropped devices at our boats, damaging both the sails and the hearing 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,” Zambrin said. “It tries to instill fear because it is afraid of our arrival.”

Greg Stoker, an American activist on board one of the boats, said in a social media post that the vessel’s VHF radio communications also suffered interference, with the jammers playing an ABBA song over the VHF channel the flotilla was using.

10+ boats boomed, heaps of drones still whizzing around

???? samuel.leason (IG) pic.twitter.com/Eqd47qyEUt

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— Global Sumud Flotilla Commentary (@GlobalSumudF) September 24, 2025

Israel blocked two previous attempts by activists to reach Gaza by sea in June and July.

Israel said Monday it would not allow the boats to reach Gaza, accusing the flotilla of serving the Hamas terror group. It said the flotilla could offload the aid in Ashkelon, from where it would be transferred to Gaza.

However, Israel insists that it will not be allowed to breach the naval blockade, which it imposed in 2007 in a bid to stop the import of weapons after Hamas overthrew the Palestinian Authority and took control of Gaza.

Israel has come under huge international pressure over its war in Gaza, which was sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage.

The war has sparked a dire humanitarian crisis in the Strip, with most of the population displaced.