As the Israeli government continues its horrific genocide of Palestinians and the destruction of housing and infrastructure in Gaza, in the third attack on the 42-ship Global Sumud flotilla, drones struck multiple boats in international waters.
Global Sumud Flotilla (Via Veterans for Peace)
By Ann Wright
As the Israeli government continues unabated its horrific genocide of Palestinians and the destruction of housing and infrastructure in Gaza, in the third attack on the 42-ship Global Sumud flotilla, drones struck multiple boats in international waters southwest of the Greek island of Crete on Wednesday morning.
In May, another flotilla ship, the Conscience, was attacked in international waters off Malta. It was damaged by Israeli bombs that blew holes in the deck of the ship’s bow causing severe damage in the hold in the bow of the ship.
These assassin drones have ruthlessly and systematically killed hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza over the past two years.
14 Sailboats Attacked
Fourteen sailboats have been confirmed to have been attacked in the early morning hours Wednesday using chemical devices or “flashbangs” on steroids.
Speaking to Middle East Eye, Miguel Duarte, an activist who was on board the Family Boat, the main vessel of the Global Sumud Flotilla, said that a drone hovered above their heads before dropping an explosive on the foredeck of the ship pic.twitter.com/ql7QOt86Ly
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) September 9, 2025
Mayday Signal Sent to Greek Coast Guard Unanswered
When the drone attacks began, the flotilla sent a Mayday signal to the Greek Coast Guard, but not surprisingly, no Coast Guard vessel arrived to check on what was happening to the boats.
In 2011, the Greek government was paid off by the Israeli government to stop ten flotilla boats from departing Greek waters to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
[SEE: Spain and Italy have sent naval ships into the Mediterranean Sea, charged with protecting the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which is carrying aid towards Gaza.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, told reporters in New York: “The government of Spain demands that international law be complied with and that the right of its citizens to navigate the Mediterranean under safe conditions be respected.”]
Attacks on Global Sumud Flotilla sailboats
The following are brief descriptions of the some of the drone attacks
- Ohwayla (U.S. Veterans Boat) was hit by a small flashbang.
- A chemical device poured a caustic substance onto Yulara, but the capsule that was releasing the chemicals bounced and fell on the water. One person was burned by the chemical.
- Otaria was hit by a flashbang at midmast.
- Maria Cristina was targeted twice by a flashbang above the deck.
- Selvaggia (Women’s Boat from Italy) was hit by a flashbang.
- Morgana was hit by a flashbang.
- Zefiro was hit by a flashbang. Confirmed damage to the rigging.
- Taigete sustained some damage to the mainsail.
Videos Describe the Attacks
This is link has a series of videos in which the attacks are described:
https://x.com/dropsitenews/status/1970627127792775584?s=12&t=LmTi29WSk5nIuU-BzL6sHw
and “Flashbangs” on steroids: https://www.instagram.com/p/DO9zPp9AjiG/
Italy Sending Navy Frigate
Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto announced that the country is sending a navy frigate to support the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aims to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, after it was targeted by multiple drones on Sept. 24.
Italy had earlier urged Israel to guarantee the safety of the aid ships and the Italian activists on board, noting that members of parliament and MEPs are also part of the flotilla.
Sixteen nations have warned Israel to respect international law and not attack the flotilla. In a joint statement the foreign ministers of Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Ireland, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Pakistan, Qatar, Oman, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, and Türkiye said,
“The Global Sumud Flotilla has informed about its objective of delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and raising awareness about the urgent humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people and the need to stop the war in Gaza.
We therefore call on everyone to refrain from any unlawful or violent act against the flotilla and to respect international law and international humanitarian law. We recall that any violation of international law and human rights of the participants in the flotilla, including attacks against the vessels in international waters or illegal detention, will lead to accountability.”
Israel says it will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and won’t allow any breach of the naval blockade.
Israel, which blocked two previous attempts by activists to reach Gaza by sea in June and July, has said it will not allow the flotilla to reach the embattled Palestinian territory.
“Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade. If their intentions are sincere, they should transfer any such aid to the nearby Ashkelon Marina so it can be forwarded promptly to the Gaza Strip in a non-violent manner,” foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said.
As the world knows, Israel is blocking the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying medical and food aid to starving and sick Palestinians in Gaza.
US Citizens on Flotilla
Of the approximately 550 persons on the approximately 50 boats of the Global Sumud flotilla, there are 22 U.S. citizens, including five military veterans on board the boat Ohwayla.
Their names and congressional districts are:
- Phil Tottenham (OH 01)
- Zue Jernstedt (NY 10)
- Greg Stoker (TX 37)
- Zuleyka Morales Rivera (WV 01)
- Jessica Kaye Clotfelter (IL 16)
In addition, U.S. veteran Najeh Abduljalil (NV 02) is on Familia boat.
Other U.S. citizens on the Ohwayla are:
- Logan Hollarsmith (AZ 06)
- Windfield Beaver (CA 23)
The following U.S. citizens are on other GSF boats (with Congressional districts for calling):
- Carsie Blanton-Paola (NJ 07)
- Eric Lein-Jeannot III (NY 02)
- Adnaan Stumo-Mikeno (MA 01)
- Tor Stumo-Huga (MA 01)
- Paul Reid-Hio (OR 03)
- Jasmine Ikeda-Meteque (WA 02)
- Michael Fix-Familia (NY 16)
- Tom Marcus-Familia (NY 15)
- Hannah Smith-Familia (CO 02)
- Geraldine Ramirez-Mali Mali (AZ 02)
- Stephen Wahab-Alma (OR 05)
- Leila Hegazy-Alma (NY 11)
- Idris Hausler-Alma (Lives in the Netherlands)
- Frank Romano-Spectre (NY 01)
A Call From the Flotilla
- Contact U.S. Government offices and officials demanding action against the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank…and the Israel bombing of flotilla ships carrying food for the starving Palestinians in Gaza.
White House 202-456-1111 and 202-456-1414
Department of State Operations Center: 202-647-1512
Congress – Demand that your Senators and Representatives:- Speak out publicly condemning the attack, call for accountability and the flotilla’s safe passage.
- Direct the State Department to protect U.S. citizens on board.
- Use the power of the purse under Article I of the Constitution to hold Israel accountable and immediately introduce legislation that cuts off U.S.
You can use the template letter we have provided. Feel free to make an edit or rewrite to make it your personal message. You can also:
- Leave a voice message. Dial the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
Click here to find your Congressional delegation. - Go further: Contact the members of Congress with constituents on board.
- Organize vigils, protests, and teach-ins. Make the crisis visible in your communities. This is also an excellent opportunity to highlight the plight of the Palestinian people and to push for an end to the genocide.
- Organize Direct Actions to disrupt complicit entities and dramatize our commitment to resist U.S. complicity in genocide.
- Pressure media to cover this story of bold, international action to stop genocide. Write op-eds, contact local outlets. Use social media to call out those who enable propaganda. Demand honest coverage.
- Build coalitions with immigrant rights groups, faith organizations, antiracist and pro-Palestinian justice movements, union locals, and any groups fighting censorship and free speech crackdown.
- Stand with BDS: Just asBoycott, Divestment, and Sanctions were crucial in ending apartheid in South Africa, they remain a legitimate nonviolent tool against Israeli apartheid and genocide.
- Be creative. Be visible. Be loud. Make your voices heard
Ann Wright served 29 years in the U.S. Army/Army Reserve and retired as a colonel. She was also a U.S. diplomat for 16 years but resigned in 2003 in opposition to the U.S. war on Iraq. She is a coordinator with U.S. Boats to Gaza and on the Steering committee of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. She has been in Israeli prison two times and deported from Israel twice for sailing on the Gaza flotillas. She has participated in flotillas in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018 and was in Istanbul (2024), Malta (2025) and Sicily (2025) for flotilla attempts at sailing to break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza. She was also a coordinator of the 2009 Gaza Freedom March that brought 1,350 persons from 55 countries to Cairo to enter Gaza on the first anniversary of the horrific Israeli Cast Lead attack on Gaza that killed 1,400 and left over 100,000 Palestinians homeless.
‘Just as Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions were crucial in ending apartheid in South Africa, they remain a legitimate nonviolent tool against Israeli apartheid and genocide.’
South Africa today is the most unequal society in the world – economic apartheid persists for millions. More than three decades after South Africa ousted a racist apartheid system that trapped the vast majority of South Africans in poverty, more than half the country still lives below the national poverty line and most of the nation’s wealth remains in the hands of a small elite.
One state, two or none….
“We say again that no colonisation, no land of one’s own and no independent government will help the Jewish nation. Jewish happiness will come with the happiness of all unhappy workers, and Jewish emancipation must come with the general emancipation of humanity.” (Arbeiter Freund (“Workers’ Friend”). January 15, 1886).
‘Presupposing that there have to be states is like saying, what kind of feudal system should we have that would be the best one? What kind of slavery would be the best kind?’ ( Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent, 1988).
‘If you ask my personal preference, I would say that I don’t believe in two states; I don’t believe in one state; I happen not to believe in any states’ (Norman Finkelstein, Breaking-the-Set, August 2014).
Salman Rushdie says a new Palestinian state would be ‘Taliban-like’ (The Independent, 20 May, 2024).
‘As for national liberation, all one can say is that with friends like Hamas, Palestinians do not need enemies. Rather than freedom, the so-called ‘Islamic Resistance’ has nothing to offer them but poverty and bloodshed. Hamas’s position is crystal clear. ‘These are necessary sacrifices’, military commander Yahya Sinwar said of the mass. destruction in Gaza in a communication with fellow Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar ‘ (Daniel Lazere, 2 September, 2024).
Earlier this month, the Tunisian coordinator, Khaled Boujemaa, resigned in protest against the presence of Saif Ayadi, an activist who identifies as “queer”.
no worry….. Italy has not sent the frigate that it’s already been replaced by another ship. In any case, the ship will be more or less nearby around (at least 10 miles far) as rescue if needed….NO more than this, unfortunately. This is clearly said by our shameful government
Saludos.
“El mundo no está en silencio”.
Un día más, un día menos. AVANT
PascuaL
Such wonderful news.
Now we have Greece, Spain and Italy using the threat of military force as a protective umbrella for the flotilla.
Let’s hope more nations buck the U.S. and the Zionist power configuration and get on board with this amazing humanitarian mission.
Sorry! Did I miss something?
“Mayday Signal Sent to Greek Coast Guard Unanswered
When the drone attacks began, the flotilla sent a Mayday signal to the Greek Coast Guard, but not surprisingly, no Coast Guard vessel arrived to check on what was happening to the boats.
In 2011, the Greek government was paid off by the Israeli government to stop ten flotilla boats from departing Greek waters to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.”
Sounds like the government of Greece is pretty slimy. Karma will certainly be visited upon them. I understand a lot of rich Israelis have moved to the Greek Islands and are building their own gated communities.
My mistake. Greece has guaranteed the flotilla’s safety only in Greek waters.
The people on the flotilla are among the most heroic people on this planet with unparalleled courage and integrity trying to stop the Holocaust in occupied Palestinian land with humanitarian supplies which the Evil Ones ( the Zionists) have been stopping for years.
I’m not sure what the Italian and Spanish ships will do, if anything if they are attacked.
wow! who would have thought that italy,
under its current government, would send
a navy frigate to support the flotilla?!
so much backbone! here’s to guido crosetto!
my EU country, by CON_trast, CON_tinues to hypocritically
stress – like a broken record – ‘israel’s right to defend itself’.
the double standardry is unbearable, when, for instance,
only the russians, who “have to remain our eternal enemy”,
according to my country’s foreign minister [my goodness!],
are called out for breaking int’l law and other agreements,
supposedly.
thank you ann wright, for your courage, your perseverence,
and for reminding me of the fact that other freedom flotillas
had sailed to gaza years ago and were also attacked by israel.
in 2010, dov yirmiya, a haganah veteran turned peace activist,
expressed his outrage at the IDF attacking boats, killing people
then, as they do now:
“[…] And now I have observed with horror and a broken heart
the repetition of the same scenes – but with the roles reversed.
It is the soldiers and sailors of the force which boasts of being
the “Israeli Defense Forces” who are now the pursuers and killers.
There is no limit to the disgrace, the cruelty and the hypocrisy
which wrap our criminal acts with words of lie and malice. […]”
Many thanks for reporting on this horrific injustice against the heroes of the Flotilla and the people of Gaza!
Whole thing is a waste of time and the Zionazis will just steal the aid. What does that all achieve? Some negative press for Netenyahoo? Like he gives a flying f?ck.
No, I don’t agree. This Flotilla is bigger and is getting closer to achieving the goal of all the Flotillas before it. I have read that Turkei and Egypt are (coincidentally?) doing joint Naval exercises in the area, in addition to the the Italian and Spanish Naval vessels accompanying the boats. There are more witnesses now – and you can bet they will be filming any hostilities. Maybe this one won’t succeed – God Willing, it will. Netanyahoo does care – He is losing clout with America – and he knows it. Even the MAGA base is partially slipping away. Israel will never have the free ride of the Holocaust it has hidden behind, again. Even if this flotilla doesn’t succeed. More will come, and Israel is fighting on too many fronts.
Right now the best thing every one of us can do is contact our government, just as Ann Wright suggested. Make lots of noise! Evil thrives in the silence, so don’t be silent.
Every protest action maters — even a short note of encouragement.
Eventually even usa will come to “…give a f**k”.