ISTANBUL

Israeli authorities plan to carry out a single forced expulsion order for all activists detained aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, Italy’s foreign minister said Thursday.

Antonio Tajani told reporters that Israel intends to issue a collective judicial order and transfer the activists to Ben Gurion Airport on Oct. 6 and 7, where they will be flown on two separate flights to European capitals, the Italian news agency Rai reported.

“For now, they have requested Madrid and London, but we’ll see. I don’t believe the flights will reach Italy,” Tajani said, adding that 22 Italians are among those detained but confirming they are “all safe.”

Tajani said the activists would be transferred to a prison facility in Beersheba following the Yom Kippur holiday.

He noted that the Italian Embassy would begin consular visits on Friday and resume them on Sunday after Shabbat.

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking from Copenhagen, pledged that her government would provide all necessary assistance to ensure the safe return of the Italian crew members “as soon as possible.” She added, however, that the flotilla “does not provide any benefit to the Palestinian people.”

Israeli naval forces attacked the flotilla as it approached Gaza’s coast late Wednesday and detained at least 443 activists on board, organizers said.

The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza (ICBSG) confirmed that 22 ships have been attacked and seized by Israeli forces, and 19 are believed to have been attacked, but it has not yet documented them.

Of the four vessels still remaining, two support ships turned back, while the vessel Marinet continued sailing toward Gaza but was still far away after a late arrival due to technical malfunctions, it added.

The flotilla, loaded mainly with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail at the end of August. It was the first time in years that around 50 ships sailed together toward Gaza, carrying hundreds of civilian supporters.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million, for nearly 18 years, and further tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 66,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.