（Source：Global Times，2025-09-25）
Some of the boats taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail for Gaza from the Tunisian port of Bizerte. Screenshot from Al Jazeera English
Italy and Spain announce they are sending vessels to help a flotilla that was targeted by drones while trying to deliver aid to Gaza, with activists claiming that Israel was behind the strikes, according to CNN.
Volunteers from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) - an organization trying to get aid into the besieged enclave using ships setting sail from ports across the Mediterranean - say that some of their vessels were targeted by drones. According to the CNN report, the organization claimed the strikes were part of a sustained Israeli campaign of intimidation.
The core vessels set sail from Spain on September 1, heading east across the Mediterranean, and have been joined by boats from other countries along the way, AP report said. The flotilla, made up of about 50 ships, are aimed at breaking Israel's blockade and delivering humanitarian aid, particularly medical supplies, to Gaza, according to Anadolu Agency.
In the final days before reaching Gaza, the GSF is experiencing an alarmingly dangerous escalation, with multiple boats reporting targeted explosions and unidentified objects being dropped on and near the boats, causing significant damage and widespread obstruction in communication, CNN cited the group's statement as saying.
The incident has raised urgent concerns for the safety of the more than 500 unarmed participants aboard the flotilla, the GSF reportedly said.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto strongly condemned the incident and said in a statement the sea convoy had been targeted by currently unidentified perpetrators, Reuters reported.
Crosetto said he authorized the immediate intervention of the Italian Navy's multi-purpose frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete as part of Operation Safe Sea.
The vessel is already en route to the area for possible rescue operations, Crosetto wrote on X.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday he will join Italy in sending a military warship to protect an international flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza after it was attacked by drones off Greece, according to Reuters.
Sanchez told a press conference in New York where he has been attending the UN General Assembly that the citizens of 45 countries were on board to deliver food to the population of Gaza and express solidarity with their suffering.
Italy and Spain's sending vessels to help the flotilla came at the moment when dozens of world leaders gathered at the United Nations on Monday to embrace a Palestinian state.
The international community witnesses the escalating crisis in Gaza and the worsening humanitarian situation, which has become particularly acute and pronounced following Israel's recent renewed offensive in Gaza City, Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry warned on X that Israel would take the necessary measures to stop the flotilla if it did not accept a proposal to unload aid in an Israeli port.
Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade, the ministry said Monday. Israel urges the participants not to break the law and to accept Israel's proposal for a peaceful transfer of any aid they might have.
The Israeli military has launched a ground offensive in recent days deep into Gaza City, one of the enclave's most populated areas, drawing widespread criticism at home and abroad.
