Flotilla less than 100 nautical miles from Gaza: “They will stop us, perhaps already today”

Brussels – The boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) are now less than a hundred nautical miles from the coast of Gaza, in the “high risk” zone manned by the Israeli navy. After a close encounter with some Tel Aviv warships, they have now passed the point where the previous Madleen expedition was boarded last June. Escorted by the eyes of the watching world, forcing Israel to delay intervention and reiterate ultimatums. 

“It is certain that sooner or later they will stop them, perhaps already today,” said Maria Elena Delia, the spokeswoman of the Italian delegation, in the afternoon. Last night, Israeli warships undertook dangerous and intimidating manoeuvres against two of the Flotilla’s main boats, the Alma and the Sirius. “They disabled communications, aggressively went around civilian boats and forced the captains into abrupt evasive manoeuvres to avoid collision,” reads a statement released by the GSF. “We thought they were intercepting us, but then they left,” said Benedetta Scuderi, an AVS MEP on board the mission. In addition to delivering humanitarian aid, the Flotilla’s stated goal is to break the Israeli-imposed sea blockade of Gaza and establish a permanent humanitarian corridor. 

Giorgia Meloni arriving at the informal European Council meeting in Copenhagen [Photo: Danish EU Presidency

From Copenhagen, where an informal summit between EU heads of state and government is taking place, Giorgia Meloni and Pedro Sanchez are also following developments with concern. Both gave orders to the military ships following the Flotilla for possible assistance to stop 150 nautical miles from Gaza, i.e. before Palestinian territorial waters that Israel has forbidden entry to for 18 years. Both advised the activists not to continue. Madrid explained that the ship Furor “cannot enter the exclusion zone established by the Israeli army, as this would endanger the physical integrity of its crew and the flotilla itself.” 

On their arrival in the Danish capital, Meloni and Sanchez reiterated their appeals. Choosing very different words. The Italian Prime Minister attacked the humanitarian mission, which she said is taking on “incredible contours, because it is a phase in which everyone should understand that exercising responsibility, while there is a peace negotiation, is the most useful thing to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, but maybe the suffering of the Palestinian people was not the priority.” 

Pedro Sanchez arriving at the informal European Council meeting in Copenhagen [Photo: Danish EU Presidency]

Meloni is referring to the plan proposed by Trump, already approved by Israel, immediately embraced by all European partners and now under consideration by Hamas. In the meantime, however, Tel Aviv continues to bomb Gaza City, and even today, according to Al Jazeera, 61 people were killed. On the other hand, the Spanish Prime Minister recalled the “humanitarian” nature of the mission, “which would not have taken place if the Israeli government had allowed the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid by the United Nations.” Sanchez reiterated that the Spanish citizens on board the Flotilla “will have full diplomatic protection,” and stressed that they “do not represent a danger or threat to Israel.” 

Behind the leaders, the chancelleries of several states are at work. In a joint statement, the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, and his Greek counterpart, Giōrgos Gerapetritīs, have “called on the Israeli authorities to guarantee the safety of the participants and to allow all consular protection measures.” However, Rome and Athens simultaneously appealed “to the women and men of the Flotilla to accept the offer of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem to safely deliver the aid destined in solidarity with the children, women, and men of Gaza.” Tajani also heard from Hakan Fidan, Turkish Foreign Minister, with whom he reportedly agreed that “the priority remains to avoid escalation.” 

Tel Aviv immediately relaunched calls for activists to turn back. “It is not too late,” the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, wrote in a post on X, calling the humanitarian mission a “Hamas-Sumud provocation.” Yesterday, Israel released documents allegedly proving links between the Flotilla and the terrorist group. Documents that were allegedly found in the Gaza Strip and that Israel has only now decided to reveal. With the boats in range.