Update on the Global Sumud Flotilla's mission to Gaza.
8:55 PM – THE ISRAELI NAVY GAVE THE FLOTILLA AN ULTIMATUM
The Israeli Navy has issued a final warning to halt the flotilla. The Israeli Foreign Ministry released a video in which a female lieutenant radios activists, saying they are "approaching a blockaded area." The ministry wrote on X: "The sole purpose of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla is provocation. The Israeli Navy has contacted the flotilla and asked it to change course. Israel has informed them that it is entering an active combat zone and violating a legitimate naval blockade. Israel has reiterated its offer to deliver any aid peacefully."
8:47 PM – CROSETTO: "THE BOATS ARE ALL SURROUNDED"
"The boats are all surrounded and should be taken to the port of Ashdod, where each nation will then decide how to bring their citizens back," Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told Tg1.
8:37 PM – TAJANI: "ITALIAN ACTIVISTS WILL BE EXPELLED"
"We have instructed the embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulates in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to assist all the Italians who will likely be taken to the port of Ashdod but will then be expelled. I believe there will be a flight to accompany them to Europe along with the others." Antonio Tajani said this on Tg1, speaking about the Flotilla expedition participants, emphasizing that the Israeli "boarding" was "expected," "the important thing is that there be no violent actions."
8:30 PM – ISRAELI FORCES ON BOARD
Israeli forces are aboard the Alma vessel and have detained crew members, according to Flotilla activists. The vessel was one of the first to be isolated and had its communications shielded.
7:56 PM - "LET'S MOVE ON"
"Twenty vessels are currently coming towards us, some of which are within the Flotilla, and we don't know their intentions. We are determined to continue; we are heading for Gaza to break the naval blockade, open a permanent humanitarian corridor, and stop the attack," said activists aboard the Flotilla. "We could lose connection soon," they said. "We urge everyone to support the Global Sumud Flotilla, but above all, the Palestinian people's right to exist. We are a self-organized and peaceful fleet." The boarding of the Flotilla has begun, with the mission's vessels coming alongside.
7.51 PM – USA ULTIMATUM TO HAMAS
"The ultimatum to Hamas remains President Trump's: 3-4 days," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a press briefing, referring to the deadline the tycoon set yesterday for accepting his peace plan for Gaza. "Delicate discussions are ongoing," the official added.
7:25 PM – ISRAEL BLOCKADE
"At 8:25 PM (7:25 PM Italian time), Israel issued a halt to the Flotilla's boats," according to activists from the Italian delegation on a mission to Gaza.
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IN THE AFTERNOON
Flotilla: "Twelve boats are coming towards us."
"A dozen currently unidentified boats are approaching the Flotilla; they are approximately five miles away from us," said Democratic Party MP Arturo Scotto, who is on board the humanitarian mission. "The boats are moving slowly," added Scotto. According to reports, the Flotilla's vessels have positioned themselves according to the rules of engagement established by the activists . "It will take about an hour to an hour and a half to reach the position of the approximately 12 vessels," the activists said, adding that some crews experienced equipment blackouts and communications disruptions.
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Turkey: "We have evacuated 11 people from the flotilla."
Turkey has evacuated 11 activists who had requested assistance from boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla bound for Gaza, including three Turks. "As part of the humanitarian aid operations conducted by civilian vessels in the Eastern Mediterranean, 11 people, including three Turkish citizens, who had requested assistance were evacuated to shore by our Naval Forces," the Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by state television TRT. Yesterday, the Turkish armed forces declared that "if necessary," they were ready to provide relief efforts in coordination with international partners.
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The Flotilla 90 miles from Gaza
" We are 90 miles from Gaza. I don't think an expedition has ever been this close and on this scale. This is why, on the one hand, we feel great pride, and on the other, anger, knowing we won't be able to get there." This is according to Democratic Party MP Arturo Scotto, aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla. "We will be intercepted in international waters and will likely be arrested," he says. " It would be an illegal act because it is taking place in international waters. We will follow the Sumud Flotilla's rules of engagement, which require passive resistance."
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Crosetto: "We'll defend you even if you feel offended."
"To those few so-called 'activists' who don't feel represented by our Armed Forces, I feel compelled to say just one thing, to reassure them: in case of danger or threat, the Italian military will be ready to defend you." This is what Defense Minister Guido Crosetto wrote in X, commenting on "some 'activists' who in Palermo, in front of the Politeama theater, feel 'offended' by the mere fact of seeing an Italian Army stand 'while thousands of civilians are being exterminated in Gaza.' " "I am certain that the vast majority of Italians know, appreciate, and feel safer thanks to our Armed Forces."
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Flotilla: "We ask institutions to be responsible."
"I always hear a lot of things about the activists aboard the Sumud Flotilla. They're called irresponsible and told it's time to take responsibility. So, we're the ones who have to hold the institutions accountable ," said Maria Elena Delia, spokesperson for the Italian delegation of the Global Sumud Flotilla. "I've never heard anyone ask, 'Why would these activists get hurt in international waters?' The answer is that when Israel is involved, the rules no longer apply, " Delia added. "The people on board deserve great respect because, after two years of genocide, no government has dared to do anything."
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Meloni: "Palestinian suffering is perhaps not a priority for the Flotilla."
"This is a phase in which everyone should understand that exercising responsibility, waiting while peace negotiations take place, is perhaps the most useful thing we can do to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians, but perhaps the suffering of the Palestinian people wasn't the priority ." This was stated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, questioned about the Flotilla case on the sidelines of the EU summit. "The important thing is European support for the plan" for Gaza, "we are awaiting Hamas's response. And I believe that at this stage, faced with a possibility that would be historic, insisting on an initiative that carries margins of danger and irresponsibility..." Spain, she added, "is doing exactly what Italy has done."
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The Swedish Prime Minister to Greta Thunberg: "Go home."
Arriving at the Copenhagen summit, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson urged activist and fellow citizen Greta Thunberg to "go home." The activist appealed to the government in the newspaper Expressen, published today: "Protect the rights of your citizens and ensure safe passage for humanitarian aid to Gaza." But the Swedish prime minister responded bluntly. "The government has said with a clarity that cannot be misinterpreted: we advise against all travel to Gaza for the next 10 years, and I've heard Italy say the same ." "Go home," he concluded.
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"The Navy will use loudspeakers with the Flotilla: 'Go back!'"
Before the flotilla vessels reach Israeli territorial waters, the Navy will make announcements over loudspeakers, urging the activists to return to the countries from which they came. If they don't withdraw, the Navy will detain them and transfer them to Israel, Channel 12 reports. Afterwards, the activists will be allowed to voluntarily expel themselves, and if they refuse, they will be arrested and tried by a special court (not a regular court) for illegal entry into Israel. Some of the activists' vessels will be confiscated, and others will be sunk.
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Madrid: "Our ship will not be able to enter the exclusion zone."
"The flotilla's mission is laudable and legitimate, but the lives of its members must take priority," the Spanish government told the flotilla's members, according to sources at Moncloa. Furthermore, the ship sent by Spain, Madrid reported, "will not be able to enter the exclusion zone established by the Israeli army, as this would put the physical safety of its crew and the flotilla itself at risk." Hence the call to stop and not proceed further.
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Five Star Movement posts a photo from a ship's Flotilla: "That's Israel."
"That ship down there is Israel. Over there is a genocidal government; over here there are unarmed aid workers. According to our prime minister, those making this video are putting peace at risk." Five Star Movement (M5S) group leader in the Chamber of Deputies, Riccardo Ricciardi, wrote this on Facebook, posting a photo of a ship on the horizon taken by his colleague Marco Croatti aboard the Flotilla.
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"We were surrounded at dawn."
A flotilla vessel was "aggressively surrounded" by an Israeli warship this morning, the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement, reported by Sky News. According to reports, the captain of one of the leading vessels was forced to make a sudden maneuver to avoid a head-on collision. Onboard communications were remotely disabled while the warship proceeded "dangerously close" for several minutes. According to the flotilla, the vessel then harassed another flotilla vessel with similar maneuvers.
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«Unidentified vessels approaching»
"Unidentified vessels approached several Flotilla vessels during the night, some with their lights off. Participants implemented safety protocols in preparation for a possible boarding. The vessels have now moved away from the Flotilla," explained Maria Elena Delia, the Italian spokesperson for the Global Movement to Gaza. "We are continuing to sail toward Gaza, approaching the 120-nautical-mile limit," she added, "near the area where previous flotillas were intercepted and attacked."
- UPDATE IN PROGRESS -
(Unioneonline)