From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Italian PM urges flotilla to turn around, warns incident could derail peace efforts
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni again urges the activist flotilla attempting to deliver symbolic humanitarian aid directly to Gaza to “stop now.”
She warns in a statement that a confrontation with Israel could upset the current “fragile balance” that could lead to peace based on the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.
“Many would be happy to disrupt” that plan, Meloni says.
“I fear that the flotilla’s attempt to breach the Israeli naval blockade could provide a pretext for this. Also for this reason, I believe the Flotilla should stop now,” she says.
The flotilla says Italy has informed it that the naval frigate shadowing it will soon issue a radio call, offering participants the opportunity to abandon ship and return to shore before reaching a “critical zone.”
Earlier, the Italian defense ministry said its navy would stop following the international flotilla once it reached within 150 nautical miles (278 km) of the shore of Gaza.
The Global Sumud Flotilla has repeatedly said it will continue to sail onwards.
It includes over 40 civilian boats carrying parliamentarians, lawyers and activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aiming to break Israel’s blockade, which was imposed in 2007 to prevent arms imports to Hamas.
The Times of Israel Community.