Italy redirects navy ship to assist Global Sumud Flotilla after drone attacks.
The Cradle | September 24, 2025.
alethonews.com
Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement on 24 September that an Italian navy ship has been redirected towards the Global Sumud Flotilla to provide it with “possible assistance,” after it came under a series of Israeli attacks overnight.
The Italian defense minister strongly condemned the overnight drone attacks.
Activists on board several of the flotilla’s boats reported at least 10 explosions after witnessing drones launch several attacks early on Wednesday. The boats were situated off the coast of Greece.
“Multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed, and explosions heard from a number of boats. We are witnessing these psychological operations firsthand, right now, but we will not be intimidated,” Global Sumud Flotilla said.
US activist Greg Stoker said a quadcopter “dropped a little popper on deck,” adding that “other boats experienced that as well.”
“Our VHF [very high frequency] radio was hijacked by adversarial comms, and they started playing ABBA,” he added. One boat was reportedly sprayed with chemicals as well.
Israel has not commented on the attacks targeting the Gaza-bound flotilla.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the flotilla was “pursuing a violent course of action” that “highlights the insincerity of the flotilla members and their mission to serve Hamas, rather than the people in Gaza.”
The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza (ICBSG) had warned on Sunday that unidentified drones were flying close to the vessels.
Workers across Italy launched a nationwide strike on 22 September to oppose Israel’s genocide in Gaza, halting public transport, rail services, schools, public offices, and ports in more than 60 cities. Italian grassroots trade union, Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), called the strike to force Rome to “immediately break off relations with the terrorist state of Israel, which is the concrete way in which Italy can, and must, react to the genocide that is taking place.”
Rail freight was suspended on Sunday night, with ports including Ravenna, Livorno, Trieste, and Genoa joining the actions. In Genoa, dockworkers blocked a vessel scheduled for Israel, while in Livorno, access to the port was restricted by protesters.
The flotilla bombarded early on 24 September is the third to attempt to break the siege of Gaza in the last four months.
The Global Sumud Flotilla also came under two attacks earlier in September.
The vessels are carrying hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, who are being starved and bombarded by the Israeli army. It has been described as the largest civilian flotilla in history.
In late July, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla’s Handala vessel was intercepted and seized by Israeli forces as it was trying to break the siege and deliver aid to the strip. Crewmembers were detained.
The month before, Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza Freedom Flotilla’s Madleen vessel in international waters as it was approaching Gaza to break the siege, seizing the boat and detaining the 12 activists on board.
In May this year, an Israeli drone bombed a Freedom Flotilla aid vessel that was en route to Gaza, blowing a hole through the ship, causing a fire, and putting it at risk of sinking. |
