• UN demands probe into drone attacks on Gaza-bound aid flotilla
• GSF says Israel endangering lives of 500+ unarmed civilians aboard the flotilla that is carrying activists from 45 countries

GAZA CITY: Israeli forces killed 40 people across Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including 22 killed by three air strikes on a warehouse sheltering displaced people near the Firas market in Gaza City as the military pressed its assault on the Palestinian territory from where hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee.

Gaza’s Civil Defence agency’s spokesman, Mahmud Bassal, said the dead included six women and nine children.

Israel has launched a major air and ground offensive on Gaza City. The United Nations says at the end of August around one million people lived in Gaza City and its surroundings, where it has declared a famine.

UN for probe into attack on flotilla

Meanwhile, the United Nations called on Wednesday for an investigation into drone attacks against a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, as Brussels slammed the strikes as unacceptable and Italy sent a navy frigate to assist.

The Global Sumud Flotilla blamed Israel for the more than a dozen explosions heard around the flotilla Tuesday off Greece, with damage caused by “unidentified objects” dropped on deck.

“Israel escalates dangerous attacks”, including “the deployment of explosive and incendiary devices, deliberate dispersal of chemical substances onto civilian vessels” and attempts to render the boats unseaworthy, it said.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said anyone responsible for the “violations” should be held accountable.

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) set sail from Barcelona this month with the aim of breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid.

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.

GSF condemns Israel

GSF accused Israel of endangering the 500+ unarmed civilians aboard the flotilla that is carrying activists from 45 countries, including Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg.

Thunberg said the “scare tactic” was “not going to stop us”.

“We are sailing peacefully in international waters. We are not carrying weapons. We are carrying food, baby formula, medical supplies, and water,” she said in a live interview on GSF’s Instagram account.

Italy dispatched a frigate that was already in the eastern Mediterranean to provide protection for the flotilla, which is carrying Italian activists and members of parliament.

“The vessel is already en route to the area for possible rescue operations”, Defence Minister Guido Crosettohe posted on X.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he told Israel that “any operation entrusted to Israeli forces must be conducted in compliance with international law”.

The GSF currently numbers 51 vessels, most of which are off the Greek island of Crete. Vessels waiting to join the flotilla had already been targeted in two drone attacks in Tunisia.

Maritime escort

The Greek coastguard said that a patrol boat from the EU borders agency Frontex was directed to the area “in response to a report of a threat” to a Polish-flagged boat, but the crew said “they did not require assistance”, so it left.

Eva Hrncirova, European commission spokesperson, said “the freedom of navigation under international law must be upheld”.

“No attacks, no drone strikes, no seizures or any use of force against the flotilla is acceptable”, she said.

The Sumud Flotilla describes itself as an independent group not linked to any government or political party. Sumud is Arabic for “resilience”.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2025