Gaza aid flotilla man 'undeterred by drone threat'

A volunteer sailing with a Gaza aid flotilla has said he is undeterred by the threat of attacks by Israeli drones.

Louie-Joe Findlater, from Poole, Dorset, said there were at least 11 explosions on Tuesday night involving boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) in the Mediterranean.

His MP, Neil Duncan-Jordan, is among more than 80 MPs who have written to the government to urge it to protect UK citizens on board from Israeli attacks.

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

The UN has declared a famine in Gaza City and warned of food shortages elsewhere

The 52 GSF vessels, most of them currently near Crete, are carrying crews including politicians and Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg.

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

Mr Findlater, who said he felt a moral duty to take time off work to join the flotilla, said Tuesday's attack happened in international waters.

He said: "These explosions were designed to inflict as much damage as possible to the boats to reduce the number of boats sailing towards Gaza.

"If they had landed any closer to one of us, we could have been seriously hurt.

"We're worried about what's next but we won't stop because we know it's absolutely nothing in the face of what Israel has been doing to those in Gaza and across Palestine for so many years."

Global Sumud Flotilla shared footage of some of the alleged drone strikes on Instagram earlier this week

Mr Duncan-Jordan, the Labour MP for Poole, said: "It's not acceptable that a ship carrying aid to assist... the people of Palestine who have been so viciously attacked should come under attack itself.

"This is an act of humanity, not an act of war and I hope the government will step in to ensure its safety."

More than 80 MPs signed a letter on Thursday to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, expressing "growing concern" for the flotilla's safety.

They said: "We have already seen attempts to forcefully stop this aid mission, with vessels attacked by what are believed to be Israeli drones, causing a small blaze on two of the vessels."

Mr Findlater said the boats were crewed by a "beautiful collection of normal, everyday people"

Mr Findlater said an offer by Israel to deliver the aid itself was unacceptable, following the deaths of Palestinians at official aid distribution points.

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.