From Spain says it will send naval vessel to protect flotilla
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says Madrid will dispatch a naval ship to a flotilla of 51 ships aiming to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza, joining Italy in sending a military vessel to assist the mission carrying a symbolic amount of aid to the beleaguered Strip.
Sanchez, who has been among Israel’s most strident critics, says he is sending the ship “to ensure that, if necessary, our citizens can be rescued.”
“I want to make it clear to the government of Israel that Spain will, of course, protect its nationals, and we will do so both diplomatically and politically,” he adds.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying activists including Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg, has blamed Israel for more than a dozen explosions heard around its vessels off Greece late on Tuesday.
In a post on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry challenges the assertion that the mission is chiefly concerned with delivering aid and not causing a provocation, saying the activists “are welcome to unload any aid you might have at any port in a nearby country outside Israel, from which it can be transferred peacefully to Gaza.”
We have another proposal for the Hamas-Sumud flotilla: if this is not about provocation and serving Hamas, you are welcome to unload any aid you might have at any port in a nearby country outside Israel, from which it can be transferred peacefully to Gaza.
Israel will not allow…
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 24, 2025
The Times of Israel Community.