September 25, 2025 | 01:43 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Following Italy, the Spanish government on Wednesday announced that it will send a warship to help the aid flotilla to Gaza. This came after activists from Global Sumud Flotilla reported at least 12 drone attacks on their ships in international waters near Greece on Tuesday night.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid will send a naval vessel to the 51-ship flotilla aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza. Spain is joining Italy in sending a military ship to aid the mission by carrying symbolic aid to the besieged Gaza Strip.
Sanchez, one of Israel's harshest critics, said he is sending the ship "to ensure that, if necessary, our citizens can be rescued."
"I want to make it clear to the government of Israel that Spain will, of course, protect its nationals, and we will do so both diplomatically and politically," he said, as quoted by The Times of Israel.
The Global Sumud Flotilla has mobilized around 50 civilian ships to try to break the Israeli maritime blockade on Gaza, with many lawyers and activists on board, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The ships were attacked by 12 drones in international waters, 30 nautical miles from the island of Gavdos, Greece, said Marikaiti Stasinou, a spokeswoman for March to Gaza Greece, part of the flotilla.
"All passengers are safe after the drones exploded above the ships," she said.
The incident has raised urgent concerns for the safety of over 500 unarmed participants on the flotilla, according to GSF.
The ships have a diverse crew, including citizens of Italy, Sweden, and Spain, according to information from CNN.
Speaking from one of the ships after the reported attack, a Spanish parliament member called for international action to aid the activists.
"I think this has to escalate further and further and reach … European Commission levels, because this needs to be tackled, coordinated with all the countries, at least in Europe," said parliament member Juan Bordera.
Bordera added that those on the flotilla are "stressed" and experiencing "very, very crazy nightmares" amid the Tuesday night explosions.
Israeli Threats
In a post on X, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the claim that the mission's primary aim is to deliver aid rather than provoke. Israel stated that the activists are "welcome to unload any aid you might have at any port in a nearby country outside Israel, from which it can be transferred peacefully to Gaza."
"If the flotilla continues to reject Israel’s peaceful proposal, Israel will take the necessary measures to prevent its entry into the combat zone and to stop any violation of a lawful naval blockade, while making every possible effort to ensure the safety of its passengers," the ministry added.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, wrote on X that the flotilla has been attacked 14 times between Tunis and Crete. "Four vessels are now damaged and require urgent repair. As of last night, an unexploded device remains on one of the boats," she wrote.
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan has called for an "independent, impartial, and thorough investigation" into the reported attacks.
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