Overview

• The convoy turned south after leaving Crete with fewer than 51 vessels, maintaining its stated course toward the Gaza Strip.
• Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke by phone with Italian spokesperson Maria Elena Delia, urging participants not to breach the naval blockade and seeking Israeli assurances on nonviolence.
• Frontex said escorting or protecting the ships is outside its mandate, while an Italian Navy vessel continues to track the flotilla at distance for possible rescues after reported drone attacks.
• Rome backs a plan for the flotilla to head to Cyprus for transfer of aid via Ashdod through the Latin Patriarchate and the Amalthea corridor, which organizers have not accepted, and an Egypt–Rafah option is also being discussed.
• About 40 Italians remain aboard and roughly a dozen left to work on land, as some activists accuse the government of undermining the mission with a warning letter about the lack of protection in case of an Israeli attack.