Late Tuesday night, the pro-Palestinian activists aboard three dozen boats off the coast of Crete claimed they had been attacked.
The flotilla has been making its way toward Gaza since it left Barcelona on September 1. It has grown since then to about 40 ships, mostly sailboats. Another six sailboats from Greece joined the group on Thursday.
In addition, Italy and Spain have now said they intend to send naval ships toward the flotilla, apparently to deter further attacks against it.
The flotilla activists, numbering hundreds of people, have claimed to have been attacked by drones twice. First, when they were anchored off the Tunisian town of Sidi Bou Said on September 10 and again on the night of September 23-24.
The incident off the coast of Crete appeared larger, with the activists claiming a dozen explosions took place. It was not clear if any vessels were damaged, and the activists haven’t shown any damage.
Nevertheless, it did worry the organizers enough so that the ships then made a beeline for Greek waters, sailing to within a few miles of the Cretan coast.
The concern of the activists appears to have reached the chanceries in Madrid and Rome.
Rome responded first, saying it would direct a naval ship currently north of Crete to sail around 200 miles to apparently meet the flotilla. However, Italy has also advised the flotilla not to go to Gaza, but rather give aid to Gaza in another way.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry had claimed the flotilla was linked to Hamas, but it changed its tune after the Italians sent a ship, urging the flotilla to transfer the goods in a third country.
Israel has also said the flotilla could go to Ashkelon to move the goods to Gaza.
As the flotilla was hugging the coast of southern Crete on September 24, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto was organizing a response. There are many Italian and Spanish citizens on the vessels.
Italy sends help
The Italian group of 20 sailboats had joined after sailing from a port near Augusta in Sicily in mid-September. Italians have protested for Gaza. As such, Italy feels an obligation toward its citizens.
Crosetto reportedly dispatched the Italian naval frigate Virginio Fasan. It is also a Carlo Bergamini-class frigate of the Italian Navy. The vessel was commissioned in 2013. It is 144 meters long.
Reports now say Italy has sent a second ship.
“Briefing lawmakers on the flotilla, Crosetto said the government aims to prevent any incidents at sea as humanitarian ships attempt to deliver aid to the besieged Gaza Strip,” Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, a state-run news agency, reported.
“We will continue to work to ensure no incident occurs with the Flotilla, and I ask for your help in this regard, regardless of political opposition,” Crosetto was quoted as saying. “The climate is worrying, and I say that we are unable to guarantee the safety of the vessels outside of international waters.”
He also condemned the attacks on the flotilla, according to reports.
“Attacks on civilian vessels in open water are totally unacceptable,” Crosetto said, adding that “any demonstration, if it respects the law, must be protected and cannot be suppressed with violence.”
The second ship being sent by Rome is the Alpino, which is also a Carlo Bergamini-class frigate. It was commissioned in 2016.
Spain has also said it would send a naval ship toward the flotilla. Reports claimed that this ship will sail from the Spanish Port of Cartagena, a distance of some 1,350 nautical miles.
Spain has a number of vessels available to deploy. Speculation has landed on the Spanish Meteoro-class offshore patrol vessel ESPS Audaz or the Furor, which is also a Meteoro-class patrol vessel.
It appears, according to various reports, that the ship is the Furor. It is slightly longer than 90 meters long and was commissioned in 2019.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, was critical of Israel in her speech at the UN. Nevertheless, she has also cautioned the flotilla against doing anything dangerous.
“We must not endanger our safety,” she said. “There is no need to enter a combat zone to deliver aid to Gaza – aid that Italian authorities can send there within hours.”
On Thursday, Ynet reported: “The Israeli Navy, with IAF support, is working to disrupt the flotilla’s progress toward Israel. However, the IDF has not prepared for a direct military clash with Spanish or Italian forces, with whom it trained regularly until October 7.
Instead, the plan is to delay the flotilla’s interception until it enters Israeli territorial waters. Early contact remains possible, and troops have been instructed not to fall for provocations and to rely only on nonviolent means if necessary.”
Sailing around
The activists on the flotilla anchored on Thursday around seven miles off the coast of Crete, south of the Cretan town of Koutsouras.
They anchored in pretty waters several miles between the islands of Koufonisi and Chrissi. Both are popular day trip destinations for tourists. Koufonisi is known for its caves, and Chrissi is a protected natural area.
The flotilla of around 44 ships is now 460 nautical miles from Gaza. It appears that it has now combined with ships that sailed from Greece, swelling its ranks slightly.
The NGO ship Emergency has also joined the group. This is a large red support ship that can assist in rescues. It is not clear if the flotilla will wait for the Italian and Spanish naval vessels.
The flotilla sails at an average of 5 knots an hour and must travel at the pace of its slowed vessel. As such, it can make around 120 miles, or 104 nautical miles a day, but it doesn’t always sail for 24 hours a day.
The Spanish vessel will still take three days to reach the flotilla if it is sailing from southern Spain.
As the naval support for the flotilla increases, the activists may feel more security, but they also risk creating an international incident. It was not clear if Italy and Spain have coordinated their response and whether the Italian and Spanish naval captains have similar orders.
Italy appears to prefer that the flotilla go to a neutral port and offload aid to a third party. The Italians appear ready to assist to move the aid to Israel and then have it delivered to Gaza.
On the other hand, the activists do not appear to want to do this. They also have not taken Israel up on its offer to dock at an Israeli part or a third country.
This sets up a possible crisis. Spain and Italy have both been critical of Israel. However, Spain is the more critical country. Italy has not yet recognized a Palestinian state.
Israel will not want to clash with Italy, but Spain might be a different story.