Italy condemns 'drone attack' on Gaza aid flotilla and deploys frigate

Unverified footage released by the GSF showed a man on board a yacht jumping onto the deck following what appeared to be an explosion nearby

Italy's defence minister has condemned what he said was an overnight drone attack by unidentified perpetrators on a flotilla trying to breach Israel's naval blockade of Gaza to deliver aid.

Guido Crosetto also said he had ordered an Italian Navy frigate to head towards the 52 boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which are mostly off the coast of Crete, to assist Italian citizens on board.

The GSF said several boats reported explosions and unidentified objects being dropped, as well as drones overhead and communications jamming. It accused Israel of a "dangerous escalation".

Israel's government has not commented. But it has previously said it will not let the flotilla reach its destination.

The Global Sumud Flotilla's campaign has caught the imagination in Italy, as several Italian politicians are on board the boats.

MP Arturo Scotto described "sound bombs, flashbangs", while MEP Benedetta Scuderi spoke of three hours of incidents that she suggested could have caused serious injury.

Unverified CCTV video footage released by the GSF showed a man on board a yacht jumping onto the deck following what appeared to be an explosion nearby. An explosion was also visible in a second video that the GSF said was filmed from the vessel Spectre.

An initial statement from the GSF said at least 13 explosions were heard on and around several boats south of Crete, and that there were reports of objects being dropped on at least 10 boats from drones or other aircraft, causing no damage.

Later, it said: "The attacks included the deployment of explosive and incendiary devices, deliberate dispersal of chemical substances onto civilian vessels, disabling of emergency communication devices and calculated physical damage designed to render the ships unseaworthy and endanger volunteers aboard."

Passengers on the boats said they requested assistance from the Greek coastguard.

A coastguard source told Greece's AMNA news agency that a Portuguese vessel from the European Union's border agency, Frontex, was dispatched to the area but that it found no evidence of material damage to the boats.

Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg, who is among the prominent pro-Palestinian activists taking part in the flotilla, called the incident a "scare tactic".

"We were aware of the risks of these kind of attacks so that's not something that is going to stop us," she said in a livestreamed conversation with Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories.

"We're very, very determined to continue our mission."

On Monday, the Israeli foreign ministry alleged that the flotilla was "organised by Hamas".

"Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade," it warned.

"If the flotilla participants' genuine wish is to deliver humanitarian aid rather than serve Hamas, Israel calls on the vessels to dock at the Ashkelon Marina and unload the aid there, from where it will be transferred promptly in a co-ordinated manner to the Gaza Strip."

The GSF has said its goal is to "break the illegal siege on Gaza by sea, open a humanitarian corridor, and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people".

Two weeks ago, it reported that two vessels were targeted in separate drone attacks while anchored off Tunisia. Tunisian authorities said they were investigating the claims.

In June, Thunberg was one of 12 people on board a Gaza-bound aid ship, the Madleen, that was intercepted by Israeli forces about 185km west of Gaza.

Another vessel carrying 21 people, the Handala, was intercepted about 75km off Gaza in July.

The GSF's boats set sail after experts from the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed that there was a famine in Gaza City and warned that it could spread to central and southern Gaza within weeks.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has said at least 440 Palestinians have died from the effects of malnutrition since the start of the war, including 162 since the famine declaration.

A spokesman for UN human rights chief Volker Türk said he had called on Israel to "urgently lift the blockade on Gaza and allow the entry of life-saving material through all means possible".

As the occupying power, he added, Israel "must ensure food and medical supplies for the population to the fullest extent of the means available, or facilitate impartial humanitarian relief schemes, delivered rapidly and without hindrance".

Israel has insisted it acts in accordance with international law and facilitates the entry of aid.

It has also disputed the IPC's findings and the health ministry's figures, and strongly denied the allegation - most recently made by a UN commission of inquiry - that its forces have committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government in Italy has until recently been seen as one of Israel's closest allies in Europe, but Rome's language on the war in Gaza has quickly hardened, largely because of domestic political pressure.

Opinion polls indicate a shift in attitudes against Israel, and two days ago unions were able to call out tens of thousands of Italians on to the streets of up to 80 towns and cities in protest.

Although Italy has not joined the UK and France in recognising a Palestinian state, Meloni has now moved much closer to their positions. She has suggested that she is not opposed to a motion in parliament recognising Palestine, as long as Hamas frees all hostages and that it is excluded from "all government processes".

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 65,419 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.