By Alvise Armellini, Edward McAllister and Silvio Castellanos
ROME/ATHENS (Reuters) -Several unidentified vessels were seen approaching the international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza on Wednesday night, two sources on board told Reuters.
It was not clear who operated the vessels. Their approach comes hours after the flotilla said that Israeli “warships” approached some of its boats and engaged in “dangerous and intimidatory manoeuvres” before dawn on Wednesday as it neared the Palestinian territory.
Israeli officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“They are already coming for us. Two dozen vessels are waiting for us,” Jose Luis Ybot, a passenger on the flotilla, said in a video posted on social media.
Two other passengers, including Juan Bordera, a regional lawmaker from Spain’s Compromis party, confirmed the boats’ approach. One said that around two dozen vessels were coming and that the flotilla could be intercepted within the hour.
Israel has said it will use any means to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza, arguing that its naval blockade is legal as it battles Hamas militants in the coastal enclave.
Israel began its Gaza offensive after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken as hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The offensive has killed over 65,000 people in Gaza, Gaza health authorities say, and left many in dire need of food and aid.
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru, Alvise Armellini in Rome, and Emma Pinedo and Aislinn Laing in Madrid; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Deepa Babington)
