Reportage
International escort helped the flotilla move closer to Gaza
Italy is not the only country escorting the flotilla. Between Sunday and Monday, a military vessel sent by Spain also appeared on the horizon.
“That is as far as we can go,” Defense Minister Crossetto said: no closer than 120 miles from the coast of Gaza. After that, the Italian Navy frigate sent to escort the Global Sumud Flotilla will stop and abandon the humanitarian mission to its fate. In an online meeting with all the Italian participants, Mariaelena Delia relayed what Minister Crosetto told her on Sunday evening. Delia, the Italian representative among the leadership of the flotilla, had left the boat Morgana on Friday to return to Rome for meetings with government and opposition politicians.
Before reporting on the results of her meetings with officials, she reassured her compatriots that she had not abandoned the mission but had joined the ground crew. “We are here to defend you tooth and nail,” she said – a sentiment certainly not shared by Minister Crosetto. On Thursday, the minister had stated that the Italian Navy could not guarantee the flotilla’s safety “in Israeli waters,” by which he meant Palestinian waters that are under an illegal blockade according to international law.
Delia’s meeting with the minister revealed the latter’s decision to backpedal even further: the Italian Navy will now stop its escort a full day’s sail before the mission even reaches the Israeli blockade, which has been declared at 20 miles from the coast. Delia reported that Crosetto insisted he could do no more, asking rhetorically: “What am I supposed to do, start a war with Israel?” In the online meeting, Italian activists were outraged, with many pointing out that this amounts to conceding a huge swath of international waters to the Israeli regime.
But Italy is not the only country escorting the flotilla. Between Sunday and Monday, a military vessel sent by Spain also appeared on the horizon. Although its mandate likewise doesn’t include the use of force, last week Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced this mission in a very different tone than the messaging coming from the Italian government: “There is a very clear principle in international law, and that is the freedom of navigation on the high seas. And so, as we do for all our citizens around the world who are moving legally in places where they can do so freely, we will give them our full consular, diplomatic and political protection.”
Then there are the Turkish drones, which are flying over the mission at a considerable altitude to document any new Israeli drone attacks. Two Turkish Red Crescent ships have also arrived and, together with the Life Support ship belonging to the NGO Emergency, rescued a flotilla boat on Monday. The Johnny M sent out a mayday after it began taking on water from a breach in the engine room. Its crew was redistributed to other boats or taken ashore.
The international escort has allowed the flotilla to sail undisturbed since its departure from Crete on Saturday, despite the constant presence of large drone swarms after nightfall. But now, only 300 miles from Gaza, the Sumud boats know that anything can happen at any moment. Whatever happens, in three days or so the mission will be over.
After the Italian government’s alarmist warnings of a possible lethal attack, the Israeli press is now talking about the interception of the ships and the quick deportation of the activists as the most likely scenario. For the eight people on board who have previously attempted to break the blockade, the risks are greater, as it is unclear what legal treatment they would face if they were detained by Israel again. They include Greta Thunberg, mission spokesperson Thiago Avila, and the Italian activist Tony La Piccirella.
PD deputies Annalisa Corrado and Arturo Scotto will be taking the least amount of risk. After days of vague statements, Scotto announced in an interview with Radio 1 that their boat will comply with any order to stop issued by Israeli forces. They will thus join up with the “accompanying” vessels: the Life Support from Emergency and the Shireen, which is carrying independent legal observers.
For other crew members, this is a question of legality. The decision of the PD deputies implicitly frames the civil disobedience announced by the rest of the flotilla – an approach adopted in the name of the supremacy of international law over Israeli domestic law – as illegal. “We are ready to be arrested, but it would serve no purpose,” Corrado wrote in a message to Italian activists on Thursday. Now the decision has been made: if it serves no purpose, then maybe it’s better to not do it at all.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/la-flotilla-tira-dritto-verso-gaza-il-governo-se-ne-lava-le-mani on 2025-09-30