BRUSSELS 

Ships of the Global Sumud Flotilla sailing toward the Gaza Strip are preparing for a possible interception by Israel as they approach a designated high-risk zone in the eastern Mediterranean, Italy's La Stampa reported Tuesday.

Two of the flotilla's vessels, Jeannot III and Estrella, are continuing their courses with an expected arrival in three days, while activists said the mission could face Israeli intervention within hours.

"We are about 200 miles from the Gaza Strip, so two or three days of sailing. We are in the middle of international waters between Greece and Turkey. Most likely, tonight or tomorrow, we will be intercepted by the Israeli army," Yassine Lafram, president of the Union of Islamic Communities of Italy (UCOII), said in a video update aboard the Karma vessel.

Calling any such action "an act of piracy, a kidnapping that violates every rule of international law," Lafram stressed that the flotilla remains determined to deliver humanitarian aid and "break the siege imposed on the entire Gaza Strip."

Italian activist Tony La Piccirella noted earlier that the flotilla would soon enter the interception zone.

"There is no set limit for the naval blockade, but it is as long as other states allow Israel to do so,” said La Piccirella. “We will not stop. The peace proposal is just a charade, a proposal for total surrender. A sell-out of Palestinian territory to Israel and the US.”

The Global Sumud Flotilla, made up of about 50 ships with over 500 activists onboard, set sail earlier this month to break Israel’s blockade and deliver humanitarian aid, particularly medical supplies, to Gaza.

The Israeli army has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to a famine.​​​​​​​