The Global Sumud Flotilla activists are still present on board the Alma in Greek territorial waters. The drone attack on the ships, which is heading towards Gaza on Wednesday, is not anticipated to be the last. It is heading to the Palestinian-occupied area.
A larger Israeli attack is anticipated as the flotilla, which is currently moving through Greek territorial waters, approaches Gaza.
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Yasemin Acar, a 38-year-old German-Turkish member on the steering committee of the Global Sumud Flotilla, said, “What happened was yet another war crime committed against civilians, against a humanitarian mission.”
Acar has previous experience intercepting Israel’s Madleen flotilla in June and is skilled in locating drones and assessing security risks. Acar and the rest of the crew were detained before Israel deported them.
Drone attack
Prior to Wednesday’s attack, the flotilla had already been on high alert. While visiting a Tunisian port earlier in the month of September, Israel had repeatedly threatened to attack the ships being attacked.
That meant that Acar immediately instructed volunteers on board the flotilla to be “extra aware” once darkness set in when she noticed the reflections of three unidentified objects in the orange sky of sunset on Tuesday.
On Tuesday night, around 8 o’clock (17:00 GMT), drones were seen flying toward the Alma, one of the flotilla vessels. The activists on duty from that point on reported a rise in drones flying over the ship, with 15 total recorded throughout the night.
Problems with radio and internet communications were reported by 11 p.m. (GMT), laying the foundation for the attack.
All volunteers were instructed to get up, put on life jackets, and gather at the designated ship meeting point for further instructions. The sailboats’ lights swayed from side to side in the distance, making it visible from the Alma. The volunteers heard explosions and bursts of light above the sailboats.
As drones continued to fly low and attacked the sailboats, more explosions followed, and broken communications revealed the possibility of using chemicals.
According to a news release from the Global Sumud Flotilla, there were total of thirteen explosions reported throughout the night.
Spirituality
Acar was able to provide the all-clear by dawn on Wednesday.
However, from here, things are only likely to become even riskier.
On Thursday, Israel once more threatened the flotilla. Israeli Foreign Ministry official Eden Bar Tal said that the flotilla was “serving Hamas” and that Israel would not permit any vessels to enter the active combat zone.
However, as Gaza gets closer to the island, Spain and Italy have sent navy ships to defend it.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares stated on Thursday that Spain had spoken with Ireland about the same subject and had spoken up with Belgium about helping citizens board the flotilla.
With the weekend’s of massive protests and port blockades in Italy, the pro-Palestinian movement is receiving more support than ever.
The final push of the flotilla’s final push, which many of the volunteers on board have been separated from their families, homes, and jobs for more than a month, leaves Gaza.
As the Israeli attack on Gaza City drags on, the genocide against the Palestinians continues in a vivid way despite the more than 65 000 killed, thousands of people still living in rubble, and hundreds dying of hunger.
However, the joy of sailing together again and seeing fellow volunteers on the horizon has restored some of the lost energy from the difficult and difficult journey.
Source: Aljazeera
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