Italy Deploys Navy Ship To Help Gaza Aid Flotilla After Drone Attack

(MENAFN- Gulf Times)

• Aid flotilla of 50 vessels attacked overnight by drones
• Convoy aims to deliver aid and break Israel's Gaza blockade
• Italy sends navy ship to offer assistance, condemns attack
• Onboard radios jammed with "very loud ABBA music", witness says
• Israel says it will not allow any breach of the blockade

An international aid flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza said on Wednesday it was attacked overnight by drones in international waters off Greece, prompting Italy to send a navy ship to come to its assistance. The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) is using about 50 civilian boats to try and break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, with many lawyers and activists onboard, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
The vessels were attacked by 12 drones in international waters 30 nautical miles (56 km) off the Greek island of Gavdos, said Marikaiti Stasinou, a spokesperson for March to Gaza Greece, which is part of the flotilla.
All passengers are safe after drones exploded over the vessels, she told Reuters.
GSF said the attack affected 11 vessels and blamed Israel and its allies for "explosions, unidentified drones and communications jamming," saying it would not be intimidated and would continue to sail.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement the sea convoy had been targeted by "currently unidentified perpetrators". He expressed the "strongest condemnation" of the incident.
He ordered the Italian multi-purpose frigate Fasan, previously sailing north of Crete, to head towards the flotilla "for possible rescue operations", focusing primarily on Italian citizens.
The GSF called on other nations to "ensure and facilitate effective protection, including (with) maritime escort, accredited diplomatic observers, and an overt protective State presence. Italy has now taken a first step in this direction."
"The drones that have been following us for days have detonated an explosive device, knocking off the boat's jib, and we're at risk of the mast falling," said Stefano Bertoldi, an Italian activist with the climate group "Ultima Generazione" (Last Generation) that is sailing in the flotilla.
Bertoldi issued several maydays as the explosions rang out, Last Generation said in a statement.
Crosetto expressed "the strongest condemnation" of the "attack" by "currently unidentified perpetrators".
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had asked Israel to ensure the safety of "Italian citizens, along with members of parliament and MEPs".
He has already informed Israel that "any operation entrusted to Israeli forces must be conducted in compliance with international law and the principle of absolute caution," the ministry said in a statement.
Tajani has also asked the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to "reiterate its previous request to the Israeli government to guarantee the absolute protection of the personnel on board," it said.
The Greek coastguard told AFP that a patrol boat from the EU borders agency Frontex had approached one vessel and saw no evidence of damage.
Contacted at its Warsaw headquarters, Frontex could not immediately confirm or deny the incident.
Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which has a senator on one of the boats, called on the EU "to intervene immediately to defend the vessels flying the flags of member states" by providing "protection and maritime escort through the deployment of Frontex vessels".
Israel has repeatedly criticised the flotilla, accusing its activists of complicity with the Hamas.
On Wednesday, the foreign ministry repeated an invitation for the flotilla to drop humanitarian aid in an Israeli port, leaving it to Israeli authorities to take it to Gaza, or else face consequences.
"Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade," a ministry statement said.
It made no comment on whether it was responsible for the drones.
Earlier this month, the flotilla blamed Israel for other drone strikes on its boats while they were moored in a Tunisian port. Israel did not respond to those accusations.
The drones came in the middle of the night dropping stun grenades and itching powder, damaging the sails of some boats, according to two leftist Italian members of the European Parliament aboard the flotilla.
Before the attack, onboard radios started playing "very loud ABBA music," Annalisa Corrado of the Democratic Party said in a video message. "We thought it was a joke, but no, it was the first act of intimidation, to tell us they were close enough to get into our radio systems."
The attack lasted around three hours until 4 am local time (0100 GMT), Benedetta Scuderi of the Greens-European Free Alliance group told Italian public radio RAI.
A Greek coastguard official told Reuters that members of the flotilla contacted them around 2 am (2300 GMT) to inform them of the incident. When approached by the European Union's border agency Frontex, however, the flotilla said it did not require assistance, the official added.
In Brussels, a European Commission spokeswoman said "any use of force against the flotilla is not acceptable", adding that "we totally understand" the activists' desire to raise awareness about the situation in Gaza Sumud Flotilla flotilla

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