ISTANBUL,(Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced Saturday that a swarm of drones had been spotted flying near and over the humanitarian aid ship Handala, currently en route to the besieged Gaza Strip in a new attempt to break the Israeli blockade.
In a statement posted on Telegram, the coalition reported that 16 drones were seen within 45 minutes, with several flying directly above the vessel. The ship, which set sail from the Italian coast, carries 21 international activists determined to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid despite threats of interception.
French Member of Parliament Gabrielle Catla, who is aboard Handala, stated via Telegram, “We are ready for any possible intervention that may occur in the coming hours or tomorrow morning. We are united, in solidarity, and prepared. The drones have started heading toward us. If the internet is cut, strange things may happen.”
“Don’t worry about us, think of the Palestinians. What they’re enduring in this horrific genocide is far worse than any danger we face aboard this ship,” she added.
Tensions escalated on Thursday when the coalition temporarily lost contact with Handala amid reports of nearby drone activity, raising fears of interception or attack. By early Friday, communication was restored after a two-hour silence, and the ship was reported to be approximately 349 nautical miles from Gaza, still advancing toward its destination.
The Handala vessel departed the port of Syracuse, Italy, on July 13, and docked briefly in Gallipoli on July 15 to resolve technical issues. It resumed its voyage toward Gaza on July 20.
The mission comes after a series of attacks and obstructions against previous flotilla efforts. On May 2, the Al-Dameer ship was attacked by an Israeli drone, which punctured its hull and ignited a fire. On June 9, Israeli occupation forces seized the ship Madleen in international waters while it was attempting to reach Gaza with aid. Twelve activists aboard were arrested and later deported under the condition they would not return.
These incidents come amid a deepening famine in Gaza, where widespread images show Palestinians with skeletal bodies, suffering from severe hunger, dizziness, and collapse.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has waged a genocidal war on Gaza, marked by indiscriminate killing, starvation, forced displacement, and destruction, in flagrant defiance of international law and repeated rulings from the International Court of Justice.
With unrelenting support from the United States, the genocidal war has resulted in over 203,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, the majority of them women and children. Thousands remain missing beneath the rubble, while famine and displacement have devastated the population of the enclave.
