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“However, we are very concerned about the safety of these people, including Australians.”
The organisers of the flotilla said on Wednesday afternoon, AEST, that the vessels were nearing Gaza.
“We continue to sail to Gaza approaching the 120 nautical mile mark, near the area where previous flotillas have been intercepted or attacked,” they said.
Israel has said it would use any means necessary to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza because it argues its naval blockade is a legal means to defeat Hamas, the group that launched an attack on Israel in October 2023 and is listed by Australia and others as a terrorist organisation.
While Italian vessels escorted the flotilla at some stages of the journey, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni urged the flotilla to stop and made it clear this naval support would not continue.
The Times of Israel reported on Wednesday that the Israeli Navy was expected to board the boatsdetain the activists and transfer them to a single naval ship before taking them to Ashdod port and arranging their deportation.
Sydney content creator Abubakir Rafiq is part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, headed towards Gaza. Credit: @abubakirrafiq
It said some of the vessels might be towed to Ashdod, although it also cited unnamed military sources saying they expected to sink some of the boats.
Australian film-maker Juliet Lamont, who is on board Wahoo, said the drone attack several days ago began with the Israeli Defence Forces jamming radio signals and playing a Bob Marley song – Three Little Birds – before drones descended on the boat.
“It was terrifying,” she told this masthead from the Wahoo on Wednesday night, AEST. “It was like there were lots of fireflies above, hundreds of them and really, really loud.
“Then we saw some descending to about sail height. They didn’t have the usual sort of red and green kind of flash as the surveillance drones. And then they just shot into the sails and exploded with this kind of meteoric blast.
Australian Juliet Lamont on board Wahoo as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, on its way to Gaza.Credit: Facebook
“It did feel like we were in a kind of war movie, but it was real. And then some of the bombs that they were using were sonar bombs – they set off this massive noise.”
There were no casualties, she said, but the drones managed to “take out” four of the boats. More than 40 continued toward Gaza.
A video posted last week showed what appeared to be an explosion near one of the vessels, Spectre, which is carrying Sydney content creator Abubakir Rafiq.
“Last night, our boat the Spectre was hit by three drones,” Rafiq said in an Instagram video on September 24.
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Israeli forces seized a ship carrying Thunberg in June when it sought to break the Gaza blockade, transferring the activists to a port and detaining them for several days before deporting them.
Upon her release, Thunberg accused Israel of illegally kidnapping her and other activists because she argued they were in international waters.
Thunberg told the BBC on Sunday that the latest flotilla was not a publicity stunt but an attempt to help Palestinians in Gaza, saying Israel was breaking international law by trying to stop the activists.
“Why would they attack a peaceful humanitarian mission aiming to bring humanitarian aid to a starving population?” she said.
As the vessels approached Gaza, the Global Sumud Flotilla held an emergency press conference on YouTube soon after 8pm on Wednesday, AEST, and heard from supporters including Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Albanese said the Israeli occupation of Gaza was unlawful and this meant the flotilla was legal and should not be intercepted by the Israeli Navy.
Another speaker, New York lawyer Lamis Deek, praised the flotilla as part of a global movement to help Palestinians.
“We couldn’t be more grateful – we’re here for you, the law is on your side, the world is on your side,” she said to the flotilla organisers.
Australians are on board the dozens of ships heading to Gaza.Credit: YouTube
Deek is Palestinian and campaigns for the “right to return” of Palestinians. The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organisation, has called her public statements anti-semitic, highlighting a social media post in which she honoured Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces last October.
Canary Mission, a group that identifies people it regards as anti-semitic, has posted videos of Deek calling Hamas “global heroes” and saying: “We love Hamas. They are global agents of world peace.”
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