Activists aboard a flotilla sailing toward Gaza said they were prepared for an Israeli naval intervention as they neared the besieged Palestinian territory on Wednesday, following a tense night in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, with Greta Thunberg aboard, consists of about 50 boats and 500 activists and is carrying a symbolic amount of aid. It has remained undeterred in its mission to break the Israeli blockade of the coastal strip and reach Palestinians.
“Every minute we advance a little more,” Thiago Ávila, one of the flotilla leaders and spokespeople, told reporters Wednesday in an online news conference from aboard the Alma, one of the flotilla's motherships.
The ships were sailing in international waters north of Egypt on Wednesday morning and had entered what activists call a “danger zone” — which Israeli authorities had warned them not to cross and where the Israeli navy had stopped attempts by other flotillas in the past.
Overnight, the activists said two Israeli warships aggressively approached two of their boats, circling around them and jamming their communications, including the live cameras on board.
“It was an intimidation act, they wanted us to see them,” said Lisi Proença, another activist who was on board the Sirius, a vessel that was targeted alongside the Alma.
After the close encounter overnight, the military vessels eventually left and the flotilla continued on its journey, broadcasting live cameras from many of its boats.
If undisturbed, it was to reach the shores of Gaza by Thursday morning, the group said. However, activists said that was unlikely and that they were expecting Israeli authorities to try to stop them at any moment, as they have done in past attempts.
European governments, including Spain and Italy which had sent their navy ships to escort the flotilla during part of its journey, urged the activists to turn back and avoid confrontation. Italy has warned flotilla organizers that Israel would consider their incursion beyond the “danger zone” as a “hostile act.”