Italy has dispatched navy ships in the southern Mediterranean to assist civilians traveling with an international aid flotilla headed for Gaza, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Thursday, reported Xinhua.
Addressing the Senate, Crosetto said the frigate Fasan was sent Wednesday after drones dropped stun grenades on several vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) off the coast of Crete, Greece. A second, larger ship is also en route to replace the Fasan once it reaches the flotilla.
"The Italian government strongly condemns what has happened. Attacks on civilian vessels in open waters are completely unacceptable," Crosetto said.
He stressed, however, that the warships' mission was limited to protecting Italians and other civilians on board.
No group has claimed responsibility for the drone attacks. The flotilla blamed Israel for the attacks, but Israel has yet to comment.
The GSF, comprising about 52 small vessels and more than 500 volunteers from over 40 countries, aims to challenge Israel's naval blockade imposed since 2007 and deliver food and medical aid to Palestinians.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York hours earlier, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Israel had "crossed a line" in its military campaign in Gaza. While acknowledging Israel's right to respond to Hamas' attack in October 2023, she said the scale of its retaliation was disproportionate and had caused severe civilian casualties.
The latest round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has dragged on for nearly two years, claiming more than 65,000 lives in Gaza, nearly half of them women and children, and leaving 2 million people mired in a humanitarian catastrophe.
- Italy
- Navy ships
- Flotilla
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
