Italy Decides to Send a Second Ship to Support the International Aid Fleet Heading to Gaza

SadaNews - Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Thursday that his country will send a second naval ship to support the international aid fleet that was attacked by drones while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.

The "Global Resilience Fleet" includes about 50 civilian boats seeking to break the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza, with participants including activists and lawyers, among them Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Crosetto explained in a speech before the Italian Chamber of Deputies: "We have sent one ship, and another is on its way, in preparation for any emergencies".

Italy had sent a warship on Wednesday to assist the fleet, just hours after it was attacked by drones that dropped sound bombs and skin-irritating powder in international waters, 30 nautical miles off the Greek island of Gavdos.

The "Global Resilience Fleet" held Israel responsible for the attack, while the Israeli Foreign Ministry did not directly respond to the accusation, merely reiterating the call to offload the aid at an Israeli port to be transported to Gaza, warning of the consequences otherwise.

In parallel, Spain decided to send a military warship to protect the fleet.

Crosetto warned activists against insisting on trying to break the Israeli blockade, calling on them to accept the Italian proposal to deliver the aid to Cyprus and the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, which will oversee its transportation. He stated: "We cannot guarantee the safety of our citizens if they enter the territorial waters of other countries".

The "Global Resilience Fleet" announced on Thursday morning that its ships are slowly navigating in Greek territorial waters and have experienced "moderate drone activity" during the night, and that they will head towards international waters "later today".