Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto sent a navy frigate to assist a Gaza-bound flotilla on Wednesday, after organisers said several of their boats had been targeted by multiple drones off Greece.
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The Global Sumud Flotilla said more than a dozen explosions were heard around the flotilla as it sailed off Greece late on Tuesday, with damage caused by “unidentified objects” dropped on deck.
“To ensure assistance to the Italian citizens on the ‘Flotilla’ … I spoke with the Prime Minister and authorised the immediate intervention of the Italian Navy’s multipurpose frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete as part of Operation Safe Sea,” Crosetto said in a statement posted by the ministry on social media.
“The vessel is already en route to the area for possible rescue operations,” he said.
Crosetto expressed “the strongest condemnation” of the “attack” on the flotilla using “drones by currently unidentified perpetrators”.
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Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had asked Israel to ensure the safety of “Italian citizens, along with members of parliament and MEPs [Members of the European Parliament]” among the pro-Palestinian activists.