Last night, crew members of the flotilla reported another wave of attacks while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. From Israel’s response to how you can help, we explain everything you need to know
Last night (September 23), crew members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of around 50 ships which is attempting to break Israel’s blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, reported being attacked. This is the second time the flotilla has been targeted, following two drone attacks off the coast of Tunisia earlier this month, and comes after Israel intercepted two earlier attempts to reach Gaza by sea. Here’s everything you need to know about the flotilla’s voyage, how Israel has responded and what you can do to help.
WHAT HAPPENED?
The fleet faced a wave of attacks on the night of September 23 and in early hours of this morning (September 24) while sailing off the coast of North Libya and south of Crete – about a week’s sailing from Gaza. A statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla describes experiencing “multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed and explosions heard from a number of boats.”
In a video posted to Instagram, crew member and activist Thiago Ávila described hearing ten explosions and claimed that they were attacked with “devices which have the capacity to injure people and damage the boats.” According to Ávila, these included sound bombs, explosive flares and suspected chemical spray.
Fellow crew member Greg Stoker, an American activist, clarified that no one was injured and called the attacks an “psychological operation.” In an Instagram video, he described their boat being assailed by a quadcopter drone, said their radio was hijacked by “adversarial comms”, and showed footage of the radio blasting the music of ABBA. “ABBA’s from Sweden, obviously, so their weird obsession with Greta Thunberg being on the flotilla maybe had something to do with it,” he said.
WHAT IS ISRAEL SAYING AND WHAT MIGHT IT DO NEXT?
While Israel hasn’t commented on last night’s events or the earlier drone attacks in Tunisia, its foreign ministry has stated outright that it will refuse to let the flotilla reach Gaza, just as this summer it intercepted two earlier humanitarian missions. Worryingly, Israel has characterised the flotilla as a terrorist initiative “organised by Hamas, to serve Hamas”, which could be laying the groundwork for an even more violent response. There is good reason to be concerned: in 2010, Israel killed ten crew members taking part in a similar humanitarian mission, and justified this with a similar narrative.
The Israel Foreign Ministry has suggested that the flotilla should hand over its aid so that Israel can distribute it, but crew members have rejected this offer, citing the ongoing starvation of civilians in Gaza and the approximately 3,000 Palestinians who have been killed while lining up for aid.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
The Global Sumud Flotilla is calling on people around the world to apply pressure to their governments to guarantee their safe passage and allow them to deliver humanitarian aid, both of which are obligations under international law. On Instagram, Ávila warned that if Israel believes it can act without facing any backlash or accountability, the crew members will find themselves in a far more vunerable position.
This call has been echoed by many politicians and high-profile figures. Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, posted on X: “It is absurd that in 2025, ordinary citizens from all over the world have to put their life at risk – while being threatened by states acting in sheer contempt of the law – to stop a genocide,” and called for the flotilla to be protected.
Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy said on X that she was “very concerned” by last night’s events. “Our government needs to condemn attempts to intimidate activists sailing to deliver aid to Gaza and take action to protect them,” she said. One of the ships taking part in the flotilla, the Alma, is sailing under the British flag, which means the UK government has an additional responsibility to protect it.If you’re in the UK, Novara Media’s Kieran Andrieu recommends contacting the Foreign Office, the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister, and demanding they make clear they will not allow the flotilla to be attacked.
The Italian government announced this afternoon that it will be sending a naval ship to escort the flotilla and “provide assistance as needed”, according to a report in Reuters. This is quite the turnaround in light of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's previous reluctance to take firm action against Israel. Coming just days after a general strike demanding an end to the genocide caused major disruption across the country, it suggests that public pressure can be highly effective.