The Global Sumud Flotilla is using about 50 civilian boats to try and break Israel s naval blockade of Gaza, with many lawyers and activists onboard, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
The vessels were attacked by 12 drones in international waters 30 nautical miles (56 km) off the Greek island of Gavdos, said Marikaiti Stasinou, a spokesperson for March to Gaza Greece, which is part of the flotilla.
All passengers are safe after drones exploded over the vessels, she told Reuters.
GSF said the attack affected 11 vessels and blamed Israel and its allies for "explosions, unidentified drones and communications jamming," saying it would not be intimidated and would continue to sail.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement the sea convoy had been targeted by "currently unidentified perpetrators". He expressed the "strongest condemnation" of the incident.
He added the Italian multi-purpose frigate Fasan, previously sailing north of Crete, was "already on route" towards the flotilla "for possible rescue operations."
An Italian official said the navy had been mobilised primarily to help Italians on board.
Israel has repeatedly criticised the flotilla, accusing its activists of complicity with the Hamas militant group.
Read more: Israeli tanks storm Gaza City – explosions shake the ground like earthquakes
A foreign ministry spokesperson warned on Tuesday that Israel "would take the necessary measures" to stop it if it did not accept the alternative proposal to drop aid in an Israeli port, leaving it to Israeli authorities to take it to Gaza.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the overnight attack.
In Brussels, a European Commission spokeswoman said "any use of force against the flotilla is not acceptable", adding that "we totally understand" the activists desire to raise awareness about the situation in Gaza.
Israel launched the nearly two-year war in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 attacks on the country by Hamas militants which killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, the conflict has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and has spread famine, destroyed most buildings, and displaced the population, in many cases multiple times.
STUN GRENADES
Benedetta Scuderi, an Italian member of the European Parliament for the leftist Greens-European Free Alliance group who has joined the flotilla, told Italian public radio RAI that drones had dropped stun grenades.
One of them hit the mast of the sailing boat on which she is travelling, "completely damaging" the main sail, she said.
"We are in international waters south of Crete and we were attacked for three hours without anyone intervening," the parliamentarian said.
A Greek coastguard official told Reuters that members of the flotilla contacted them around 0200 on Wednesday to inform them of the incident. When approached by the European Union s border agency Frontex, however, the flotilla said it did not require assistance, the official added.
Thunberg said several boats suffered damage after they reported targeted explosions and unidentified objects dropping but they were determined to continue their mission.
This month, the flotilla also reported drone attacks on its boats while moored in a Tunisian port.
