Overview
- The Global Sumud flotilla, which set out Thursday from Marmaris, includes roughly 50 to 57 boats carrying about 500 to 600 people bound for Gaza with aid.
- The new leg follows the April 29 interception off Crete, when Israeli forces damaged boats, detained more than 175 people overnight, and jailed two activists later released.
- Prosecutors in Rome opened an inquiry into the April 29 boarding on suspicion of unlawful detention, adding legal pressure tied to the earlier operation.
- Organizers say the European Union did not answer their formal request to inspect the ships in Marmaris to verify the civilian nature of the cargo and mission.
- Italy’s foreign minister confirmed that 36 Italians traveled to join the flotilla, and Five Star Movement lawmaker Dario Carotenuto is aboard as participants brace for a possible interception and advance legal claims that are disputed outside the mission.