Activists in a Gaza flotilla approach and say they are ready for a possible Israeli interception

Activists aboard a flotilla of boats that sailed to Gaza said they were prepared for Israel’s Navy to intervene when they approached the besieged Palestinian territory on Wednesday after a tense night in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Global Sumud flotilla, with Greta Thunberg on board, consists of about 50 ships and 500 activists and has a symbolic amount of help. He has remained unchanged in his mission of breaking the Israeli block of the coastal strip and reaching the Palestinians.

“Every minute we advance a little more,” said Thiago Ávila, one of flotilla leaders and spokesmen, journalists on Wednesday at an online press conference from aboard the soul, one of the mothers of the fleet.

The ships sailed in international waters north of Egypt on Wednesday morning and had entered what the activists called a “danger zone”, that the Israeli authorities had warned them that they did not cross and where the Israeli Navy had stopped the attempts of other fleets in the past.

During the night, the activists said that two Israeli war ships approached two of their ships, circling their communications, including live cameras on board.

“It was an act of intimidation, they wanted me to see them,” said Lisi Proença, another activist who was on board the Sirius, a container that was directed next to the soul.

After the meeting closed during the night, the military ships finally left and the flotilla continued on their trip, broadcasting live cameras from many of their ships.

If it was not disturbed, it was to reach the shores of Gaza on Thursday morning, the group said. However, the activists said it was unlikely and expected the Israeli authorities to try to stop them at any time, as they have done in the past attempts.

European governments, including Spain and Italy, who had sent their Navy ships to escort the flotilla during part of their trip, urged activists to go back and avoid confrontation. Italy warned the flotilla organizers that Israel would consider their incursion beyond the “danger zone” as a “hostile act.”