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The United Nations and the European Union on Wednesday condemned attacks on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted off the coast of Greece while en route to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.

A spokesperson for the European Commission, Eva Hrncirova, said: “The freedom of navigation under international law must be upheld. … So, no attacks, no drone strikes, no seizures. Any use of force against the flotilla is not acceptable.” She added: “We respect the humanitarian commitment of the people who are on board the flotilla.”

Italy also strongly condemned the attack. Its Defence Minister, Guido Crosetto confirmed that a navy frigate has been activated to be on hand for possible rescue operations.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for stopping these attacks, stating that “those responsible for violations must be held to account,” and also demanded an “independent, impartial, and thorough investigation.”

According to informed sources, three drones flew over the Omar Al-Mukhtar vessel, which was sailing alone to join the flotilla — raising serious concerns among its crew.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said: “Attacks and threats against those trying to deliver aid to and support the hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza who are suffering famine and starvation defy belief.”

Activists on board reported that Israeli forces attacked the flotilla using flash bombs, flares, and suspected chemical substances. They said multiple drone strikes occurred, with explosions heard near the Greek coast.

READ: Spain joins Italy in dispatching navy vessel to back humanitarian flotilla for Gaza

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.