Spain and Italy send ships to support flotilla

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Spain and Italy announced the dispatch of naval vessels from their countries to accompany the Sumud Global Flotilla, the group of ships heading to the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid and which was the target of an attack last night off the coast of Greece.

The Spanish announcement was made by the head of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, at a press conference in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, cited by the Spanish newspaper El País .

“Tomorrow [Thursday] a maritime action vessel will depart from Cartagena equipped with all the necessary means to provide assistance to the fleet and carry out some rescue ,” Sánchez stressed.

"The Spanish government demands compliance with international law and respect for the right of our citizens to navigate the Mediterranean safely ," the Spanish leader said at the conference.

The Spanish Government demands that international law be complied with and that the right of its citizens to navigate the Mediterranean under safe conditions is respected.

Tomorrow morning a maritime cruise ship equipped with all means will set sail from Cartagena… pic.twitter.com/FRR6FNMRBV

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) September 24, 2025

Sources in the Navy cited by El País emphasize that the Spanish ship's mission will be to support the flotilla " in case of need " and not to provide a military escort per se.

El País also revealed that the vessel to be launched is the Furor, a maritime patrol vessel equipped with a 76mm artillery cannon and two machine guns, as well as a helicopter and a drone. Onboard will be 50 sailors and eight members of a medical team.

With a similar mission to the Furor ship, the Italian frigate Fasan will follow, whose deployment was decreed by the Italian Defense Minister, Guido Crosetto, on Wednesday morning, citing the fact that Italian citizens were traveling on board the flotilla attacked during the night.

In a statement published on the Ministry of Defense website , Crosetto expressed his "strongest condemnation" of the attack on the flotilla's ships. " In a democracy, demonstrations and forms of protest must also be protected when they are carried out in compliance with international law and without resorting to violence," he stressed.

The frigate Fasan, the minister said, advanced to the coast north of the island of Crete overnight, launching at 3:50 a.m. local time (2:50 a.m. in mainland Portugal). The ship would remain in that area of ​​the Mediterranean to assist in " possible relief operations ."

MEP Catarina Martins from the Left Bloc took to the social network X to ask the Portuguese government to follow the example of the Spanish and Italian governments and take an initiative to protect the flotilla,

"Italy and Spain will protect the Humanitarian Flotilla. Portugal has the same obligation. There is a ship flying the Portuguese flag and nationals on board," the Bloco de Esquerda member wrote in the post.

"We all know the threat from Israel is real . And the Portuguese government must act within the framework of international and humanitarian law," added the MEP, who is also a candidate in the 2026 presidential elections.

Italy and Spain will protect the Humanitarian Flotilla. Portugal has the same obligation. There is a ship flying the Portuguese flag and nationals on board. The threat from Israel, as we all know, is real. And the Portuguese government must act within the framework of international humanitarian law.

— Catarina Martins (@catarina_mart) September 24, 2025

Despite Italian assistance, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni criticized the Sumud flotilla, calling it “ gratuitous, dangerous, irresponsible, ” and stating that “one should not risk one’s own safety” to deliver humanitarian aid, while also condemning the attacks on Italian citizens.

Meloni says flotilla is “gratuitous and dangerous” action but condemns drone attacks

"It is not necessary to go to a war zone to deliver aid to Gaza, which the Italian government and the competent authorities could have delivered in a few hours," the leader of the executive branch told the Italian press in New York, just hours before addressing the United Nations General Assembly.

Meloni launched an appeal “to everyone’s responsibility, especially that of Italian parliamentarians” – four Italian MPs are on board the flotilla.

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