Activist flotilla seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza says
drones attacked its boats
[September 24, 2025]
By ELENA BECATOROS
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Activists taking part in a flotilla seeking to
break the Israeli blockade of Gaza said Wednesday that some of their
boats were attacked by drones overnight while sailing south of Greece.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said it was attacked during the night by
“unidentified drones and communications jamming.” It said that “at least
13 explosions" were heard on and around several flotilla boats, while
drones or aircraft dropped “unidentified objects” on at least 10 boats.
No casualties were reported but there was damage to the vessels and
“widespread obstruction in communications,” it added.
Activists posted a brief video on the flotilla’s social media account
showing what appeared to be an explosion on or near one of the vessels.
Greece’s coast guard did not report any distress calls.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions regarding
the attack.
Italy sending a frigate
Italy condemned the attack and activated a navy frigate to be on hand
for possible rescue operations, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto
said.
Crosetto said the Italian Navy’s frigate Fasan, which was sailing north
of Crete, was "already heading towards the area for possible rescue
operations.” Italy has informed Israel about the decision.
“In a democracy, demonstrations and forms of protest must also be
protected when they are carried out in accordance with international law
and without resorting to violence,” Crosetto said.
Italy had warned Israel to respect the rights of Italian activists
taking part in the flotilla. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told
lawmakers earlier this month that he had personally called Israeli
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar about the case.
Tajani said at the time that 58 Italians were participating in the
flotilla, including some lawmakers.
Defiant activists
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who is on board one of the flotilla
boats, called the strikes a “scare tactic” and implored the flotilla’s
supporters to stay focused on Gaza rather than on the activists sailing
in the Mediterranean Sea. She said that damage to the fleet was being
assessed.
“We were aware of the risks of these kind of attacks and that’s not
something that’s going to stop us,” Thunberg said on a livestream on
Wednesday morning.
“The most important thing isn’t that we were hit by drones. Drones are
something that Palestinians experience 24-7,” she added.
Simone Zambrin, an Italian activist with the flotilla, said that drones
“have been flying over our heads for days now” and on Wednesday "dropped
devices at our boats, damaging both the sails and the hearing of some of
our crew members.”
“We expected it because it is a rhetoric that is part of what Israel is
trying to do with regard to missions like ours,” Zambrin said. "It tries
to instill fear because it is afraid of our arrival.”
Greg Stoker, an American activist on board one of the boats, said in a
social media post that the vessel's VHF radio communications also
suffered interference, with the jammers playing an ABBA song over the
VHF channel the flotilla was using.
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A boat that is part of the Global Sumud Flotilla departs to Gaza to
deliver aid amidst Israel's blockade on the Palestinian territory,
in the Tunisian port of Bizerte, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (AP
Photo/Anis Mili)
Sailing to Gaza
The flotilla, comprised of dozens of boats from several countries,
is carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid, including food
and medicine, for Palestinians in Gaza.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has accused organizers of being linked
to Hamas, and says it has proposed that the activists unload their
aid in the Israeli port of Ashkelon for it to be transported into
Gaza.
“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 on 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.”
Attacks on the flotilla
The flotilla has reported several attacks since it set sail from
Spain on Sept. 1, including two while some of its boats were in
Tunisian waters.
The convoy is claimed to be the largest attempt to date to break the
Israeli maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has now lasted 18
years, long predating the current war in Gaza.
The almost two-year war has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians,
according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not say how
many were civilians or combatants, but says more than half have been
women and children.
The world’s leading authority on hunger crises said last month that
Israel’s blockade and ongoing offensive had already pushed Gaza City
into famine. More than 300,000 people have fled the city in recent
weeks as Israel has ordered the population to move south, but an
estimated 700,000 remain, according to U.N. agencies and aid groups.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants carried out
an attack inside Israel that killed 1,200 people, most of them
civilians, saw about 250 people taken hostage. Israel says its
operation in Gaza is aimed at pressuring Hamas to surrender and
return the remaining 48 hostages. Israel believes around 20 of the
captives are still alive.
It is not the first time that activists trying to break the Israeli
blockade of Gaza have come under attack.
Another vessel said it was attacked by drones in May in
international waters off Malta. An overland convoy traveling across
North Africa also attempted to reach the border but was blocked by
security forces aligned with Egypt in eastern Libya.
In 2010, Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara, a boat
participating in an aid flotilla attempting to breach the blockade
of Gaza, killing 10 Turkish activists on board.
___
Associated Press journalists Samuel Metz in Rabat, Morocco, Nicole
Winfield and Patricia Thomas in Rome and Renata Brito in Barcelona,
Spain, contributed to this report.
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