The departure of the Italian boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla has been postponed from September 4 to September 7. The delay, initially caused by adverse weather conditions holding up the convoy that set sail from Spain, will allow the vessels to realign their schedules to rendezvous at sea before heading for Gaza.
Onboard will be four Italian parliamentarians from the PD, M5S, and the AVS alliance: MEPs Benedetta Scuderi and Annalisa Corrado, Deputy Arturo Scotto, and Senator Marco Croatti. Their participation has been warmly welcomed by the Italian delegation of the Global Movement to Gaza, which, following warnings from Israel, is now requesting protection from the Italian government.
Meanwhile, AVS leader Angelo Bonelli raised an alarm, stating, “Three Israeli military aircraft have flown over Sicily and landed at the Sigonella airbase. Did they come to spy on the Global Sumud Flotilla or to load military equipment?” The Italian Defense Ministry clarified that the Israeli C-130 aircraft did not and was not scheduled to load any military material or equipment during its approximately three-hour stopover, which involved solely logistical support. The ministry emphasized that the use of Italian airspace and infrastructure fully complies with national laws and international agreements.
At a press conference held by the M5S at the Senate, activists disclosed that “drones have been detected near the Spanish boats already at sea,” though they did not speculate on the origin of the aircraft. Tensions are running high, particularly after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir suggested that anyone arrested during the mission would be treated as a terrorist.
“We are afraid for our safety, but we are taking courage. The Palestinian people teach us this,” admitted Maria Elena Delia, the Italian spokesperson for the Global Movement. She urged Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to be more resolute in protecting the Italian citizens onboard. “We expect drones, blockades, interceptions. We expect to be boarded and kidnapped—because what the Israeli navy calls an arrest is, for us, kidnapping in international waters. Minister Tajani has said, ‘I don’t think there are terrorists on the Flotilla.’ He should come to meet us to be certain,” Delia stated.
M5S leader Giuseppe Conte intervened at the conference to urge the government to “provide diplomatic protection to those on the boats, as Spain has done.” This request was echoed by PD secretary Elly Schlein, who wrote to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asking to be kept informed on what the government intends to do to guarantee the volunteers’ safety, noting they are “doing from the grassroots what governments should have done.” MEP Annalisa Corrado appealed directly to President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella to “invoke his protection.”
The boats, including one from the NGO Emergency, will carry tons of food and medicine destined for Gaza. The Archbishop of Palermo, Corrado Lorefice, described the mission as “a sign of hope” in the face of a “declared project of genocide and deportation.”
The press conference also featured speeches from Yassine Lafram, president of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy (UCOII), and Martina Piperno of the Jewish Anti-Racist Lab. The event sparked controversy in the center-right coalition after the newspaper Il Tempo alleged its journalists were denied access to the event, claiming they were “the only ones trying to investigate the Flotilla’s links to individuals believed to be close to Hamas.”
Several majority coalition figures expressed solidarity with the paper and indignation at what they called “censorship,” while the M5S dismissed the claims as “conjecture,” stating the journalist in question was not accredited for the press room. Forza Italia officials also collectively condemned young PD members in Viterbo for putting up flyers with a photo of Foreign Minister Tajani shaking hands with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the words “Tajani, you disgust us,” calling the act extremist.