Spain follows Italy in sending navy to aid Gaza flotilla

Spain has joined Italy in sending a ship to accompany the Gaza flotilla as the international community condemned an apparent drone attack by Israel on Wednesday morning.

Both the UN and the European Union warned against further attempts to attack the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which is attempting to provide aid to the besieged enclave. The European Commission said "no attacks, no drone strikes, no seizures or any use of force" would be acceptable.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid would dispatch a navy ship to aid its citizens on board the flotilla on Thursday, a day after Italy did the same.

"I want to make it clear to the government of Israel that Spain will, of course, protect its nationals, and we will do so both diplomatically and politically," he added.

Organisers of the expedition shared footage on Wednesday that appeared to show an explosion that detonated on one of the flotilla's vessels.

Activists heard explosions and saw drones that targeted some of their boats, currently situated off Greece.

"Multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed and explosions heard from a number of boats," the Global Sumud Flotilla said.

Later on Wednesday afternoon, Italy said it was sending assistance to aid Italian citizens on board.

"I have authorised the immediate intervention of the navy's frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete and is heading towards the area," Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement.

Crosetto also said that although the perpetrators of this drone attack were "unidentified at this time", he was deploying the Fasan as part of the Italian maritime surveillance operation Mare Sicuro.

Israel has not commented on the incident, but has in recent days stepped up its threats against the flotilla, accusing organisers, without evidence, of supporting Hamas and of pursuing "a violent course of action".

'I knew what I signed up for'

Bringing together more than 300 activists from 44 countries, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, the civilian flotilla is the largest maritime aid convoy to head for Gaza since Israel began its genocide of Palestinians in October 2023. 

Several on board the flotilla told Middle East Eye that they were still disturbed by the incident.

'We are for the Palestinians there, and I cannot imagine the feeling for them to witness this for almost two years'

– Sumeyra Akdeniz-Ordu, flotilla activist

"I knew what I signed up for when I decided to go on this flotilla, I know what Israel is capable of, and I know what Israel does to peaceful people," said Tommy Marcus, an American activist.

Marcus said that while he would love to put on his "badass face" after the explosions, he admitted that he had feared for his own life and had had little sleep since.

Tony La Piccirella, a spokesperson for the Italian delegation on the flotilla, said the Italian government's decision to send a ship was a "victory for the social movement" and came as a result of demonstrations and union action.

"It's still not enough. We are going to be protected as Italians, but we are demanding the respect of international law, we are demanding the protection of people in Palestine," he said.

"It means that we have to keep going, pushing the governments, because we are faster than them in terms of conscience, in terms of action."

The flotilla was previously attacked by projectiles launched by drones while anchored in Tunisia on 8 and 9 September.

The Tunisian government described the attacks as "premeditated" but Israel has not directly taken responsibility for them.

Polish MP Franek Sterczewski said on X that there had been "13 attacks" on 10 ships in total, and that three of them had been "damaged".

The UN said it was calling for an urgent investigation into reports of an attack on the flotilla.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said anyone responsible for the "violations" should be held accountable, and called for an "independent, impartial and thorough investigation".

Sumeyra Akdeniz-Ordu, a Turkish-German organiser, told MEE that hearing the explosions made her think of how the population of Gaza have been enduring them on a far greater scale for nearly two years.

"They cannot count on any safety or security. They are almost waiting for another sound, another loud explosion. It can come from anywhere. And the same happened yesterday night: we were looking on the right side, another explosion; 10 minutes after this on the left side, another explosion," she said.

"And it was a weird feeling, because I knew that was the beginning of the psychological warfare. But we are for the Palestinians there, and I cannot imagine the feeling for them to witness this for almost two years."