The Flotilla of Resilience Heading to Gaza Announces Entry into High-Risk Zone

Activists aboard a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza announced that they had entered the “high-risk zone where previous flotillas had been attacked.”

The activists reported the presence of numerous unidentified drones, while the flotilla’s radars detected two unidentified vessels approaching at a distance of 6 nautical miles.

Hours earlier, the Italian Ministry of Defense announced that the Italian Navy would withdraw from escorting the flotilla.

The “Global Flotilla of Resilience” consists of more than 45 civilian boats carrying parliamentarians, lawyers, and activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Its mission is to break the Israeli blockade imposed on the Palestinian enclave.

Last week, Italy and Spain each deployed a naval vessel to support the flotilla after it was attacked off the coast of Greece by drones equipped with sound bombs and irritant substances. However, military intervention was not considered at that time.

Israel has not issued a direct comment on the accusations but has threatened to use “all possible means” to prevent the ships from reaching Gaza.

This development comes amid the intensification of the Israeli war on Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 Israelis and resulted in 251 hostages being taken, while Palestinian authorities report more than 66,000 deaths in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict.