The Gaza Flotilla denounces "an intimidation operation" by Israeli military ships.

Crucial hours for The Global Sumud Flotilla, which entered the dangerous zone early this morning, where Israel could attack—as has already happened—ships seeking to break the blockade and bring humanitarian aid into Gaza. Early Wednesday, the Flotilla reported an "intimidation operation" against its ships by Israeli naval forces during the night. "One of our main ships, Soul"was aggressively surrounded for several minutes by an Israeli warship. During the incident, onboard communications were remotely disabled as the vessel approached dangerously, forcing the captain to take a sharp evasive maneuver to avoid a head-on collision," the GSF denounced in a statement.

According to the activists' account, the Israeli ship itself then headed towards another of the Flotilla's vessels, the Sirius, and repeated the intimidation maneuvers before withdrawing. "It was an intimidation attack with elements of cyberattack," one of the flotilla members, Brazilian Thiago de Ávila, later recounted at a press conference.

The flotilla is now less than 120 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza, the limit that the Israeli army has marked as an "exclusion zone." This is an "imaginary line created by Israel," which alleges the existence of an armed conflict to designate this area as a "combat zone," where it assumes the right to restrict access to ships "because they are considered a security risk," as the UN High Commissioner for Spain explained at the same press conference. Albanese stressed that this demarcation at sea "makes no sense," since Israel has no sovereignty over Gaza and, therefore, legally, no sovereignty over its waters. "Any intervention in these waters will be illegal," she warned, adding that it would be halting a "humanitarian and totally peaceful" mission. "The Flotilla ships are not threatening peace, it is the illegal occupation of Gaza, the genocide and theapartheid [which perpetrates against Israel] that threatens peace,” Albanese hammered home.

But international law has never stopped Israel before, and flotillas that have tried to reach Gaza in the past have been intercepted by the military starting 95 nautical miles off the coast. Israeli assets will wait in the dark tonight, Wednesday into Thursday, to intercept them. If not stopped, the boats are expected to reach the Gaza coast at 10 a.m. Thursday morning, flotilla sources said.

Since Wednesday, the flotilla has also been traveling without the support of the Italian military frigate that escorted it, which announced it would withdraw 150 miles from the coast. It has also been without the frigate sent by the Spanish government, which, as of Tuesday night, according to sources from the Moncloa, had positioned itself within a 120-nautical-mile radius. However, the Spanish rescue vessels have not seen the Spanish rescue ship at any time. The Spanish government issued a statement on Monday night "strongly recommending" that the flotilla not enter "the exclusion zone" that the Israeli army has established 120 miles from the coast "because doing so would seriously jeopardize its safety." It warned that the ship Fury would not cross that line.

"We have been in contact with them and with other countries that have citizens as members of the Flotilla. It is worth remembering that this is a humanitarian mission that would not have taken place if Israel had allowed humanitarian aid into Gaza," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said from Copenhagen. "[The Flotilla] does not represent any threat to Israel and I hope that Netanyahu is not a threat to this flotilla," he added, assuring that the Spanish activists traveling there - including former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau - "will have full diplomatic protection" from Spain.

"What the Flotilla is doing is absolutely legal, it is offering humanitarian aid, and Israel is obliged to stop any threat against these boats and to ensure that it can bring in humanitarian aid without obstruction for a civilian population suffering from severe hunger," Albanese said at a press conference. The UN representative also stressed that it is the nationality of each activist on the flotilla that must ensure the protection of their nationals against possible aggression from another state, such as Israel.

This afternoon, the vessels were approximately 105 miles off the coast of Gaza, a distance where Israel has previously attacked. On May 31, 2010, the ship Mavi Marmara was attacked 70 miles away, and 10 activists were killed and nine others were injured in the attack.

On Tuesday afternoon, Flotilla sources explained to the ARA that the Spanish military frigate Fury,The frigate, which left Cartagena last Thursday, would not arrive in time to escort them when they reached the risk zone during the early hours of the morning. "We have requested that they accelerate their progress so they can provide assistance," they explained. But the frigate moved quickly, and late Tuesday night, the Spanish government assured that it was already "within an operational radius that would allow the rescue" of the activists if necessary. However, Pedro Sánchez's government also warned that after 120 miles from the coast, which had already been exceeded this Wednesday morning, the Spanish ship would withdraw.

"The Spanish government is simply asking the crew of the Global Sumud Flotilla to abandon their mission and is refusing to offer them the necessary protection to reach Gaza. Accepting this threat of an assault on a peaceful and humanitarian action as normal means endorsing Israel's impunity and silencing the Flotilla.

Sumar has also criticized the PSOE. The minority part of the Spanish government has issued a statement that is at odds with the PSOE, as occurred this Tuesday in relation to the US peace proposal in Gaza: "The responsibility of the Spanish government is not to ask them to withdraw, it is to protect them if they decide to continue." Yolanda Díaz's party stressed that any attempt to stop the Flotilla would be "a serious illegality against international law." Podemos has also demanded that Pedro Sánchez "use the frigate to escort the mission and not to deter it."

The Italian military frigate that was escorting them has also withdrawn. In fact, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged the flotilla on Tuesday night to abandon its mission because, she said, it is jeopardizing the plan proposed by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to achieve a ceasefire in the Strip. "Hope has finally emerged for an agreement that will put an end to the war and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population and stabilize the region. This hope is based on a fragile balance, which many would be happy to upset. I fear that the flotilla's attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade could serve as a pretext."