A flotilla carrying aid to Gaza declared that Israeli forces intercepted its last offer to break an Israeli blockade from the Palestinian territory beaten by the war.
The Global Sumud Flotilla – About 45 ships carrying activists and politicians, notably the Swedish activist of the Greta Thunberg climate – left Spain last month, aimed at breaking the Israeli blocking of the Palestinian territory, where the UN says that famine has settled.
“War ships move in to intercept the flotilla – there are only 81 sea miles left in Gaza,” the Maghreb contingent of Flatilla Sumud said in a statement.
The French politician Marie Mesmeur and the deputy Franco-Palestinian deputy Rima Hassan also pointed out that their boats were intercepted.
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot, posted on X that the Israeli authorities “were currently taking a single on board” the flotilla.
Earlier, the Israeli navy warned the flotilla against the waters entering its blockade.
“The Israeli navy contacted the … Flotilla and asked them to change course,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Spain and Italy, which both sent naval escorts, had urged the ships to stop before entering the declared exclusion zone of Israel off Gaza.
After a 10 -day stop in Tunisia, where the organizers reported two drone attacks, Flatilla resumed its trip on September 15.
One of its main ships, the Alma, was “aggressively surrounded by an Israeli warship,” said the group, before another ship, the Sirius, was subject to “similar harassment maneuvers”.
The Flatilla had previously promised to put pressure with its attempt to provide help to the devastated coastal territory despite what it called “intimidation” tactics by the Israeli army.
He said that on X, he remained “vigilant when we enter the area where the previous waves were intercepted and / or attacked”.
Israel blocked similar attempts in June and July.
Around 1500 GMT on Wednesday, Flatilla said that it was less than 90 naval miles (about 170 kilometers) from the Gaza Strip.
“We sail on Israeli threats and tactics of intimidation,” said the flotilla, which also transports the grandson of Nelson Mandela Mandla Mandela and Rima Hassan, member of the French-French-Palestinian European Parliament.
The Spanish Minister of Digital Transformation, Oscar Lopez, had urged the flotilla not to cross the declared exclusion zone of Israel, extending to 150 sea miles off Gaza.
“Our message to Flatilla has been clear: do not go into this area,” he said on Spanish public television, adding that the Spanish naval escort would not turn into the exclusion zone.
Italy has also urged activists to “stop now” after its frigate also stopped at the limit of 150 kilometers, broadcasting radio messages to the ships of activists asking them to abandon their mission.
The activists said that the decision of Spain and Italy was an attempt to “sabotage” their efforts.
South Africa called for “the greatest restraint and prudence against any unilateral actions which could degenerate the situation or endanger human life”.
He said that “the security, security and physical integrity of all non-armed participants aboard the flotilla, including South African citizens, are of paramount importance”.
In a joint declaration, Italy and Greece called on the Israeli authorities to “guarantee the safety and integrity of the participants of the flotilla”.
Rome and Athens also urged the flotilla to “refrain from any initiative that could be exploited by those who always reject peace”.
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that activists “do not represent a danger or a threat to Israel” and hoped that the Israeli government Benjamin “the government of Netanyahu will not represent a threat to this flotilla either.”
Speaking before a European Council meeting on Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on activists to arrest their trip, saying that this could compromise the last peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, currently still underway.
“Faced with a historical opportunity, I cannot understand the insistence on an initiative that brings elements of danger and irresponsibility,” she said.
