ROME, April 30 (Reuters) – Italy condemns Israel’s seizure of aid ships bound for Gaza and demands the immediate release of all Italians who have been “unlawfully detained,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said on Thursday.
Israel intercepted the vessels in international waters near Greece late on Wednesday, a move the organizers — Global Sumud Flotilla — called an act of piracy against boats carrying humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.
Rome also urged Israel to respect international law and guarantee the safety of those on board. It did not say how many Italians had been detained.
“The government reaffirms its commitment to continuing to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza within the framework of our cooperation and in accordance with international law,” it said in a statement.
Meloni’s right-wing government has been one of Israel’s closest friends in Europe, but in recent weeks it has criticised its attacks on Lebanon, which have killed hundreds and injured thousands.
Earlier this month, it suspended a defence cooperation deal with Israel on account of what was happening the Middle East.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for the over 2 million residents and called those onboard the flotilla boats “attention-seeking agitators.”
Israel’s military had halted a previous flotilla assembled by the same organisation last October in an attempt to reach blockaded Gaza, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 participants.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Alvise Armellini)
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