Spain summons Israeli envoy, condemns detention of Gaza-bound flotilla members

Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Thursday urgently summoned Israel's charge d'affaires in Madrid, expressing his "strongest condemnation" over the detention of members of the Global Sumud flotilla, a pro-Palestinian humanitarian convoy bound for the Gaza Strip, reported Xinhua.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry said consular protection mechanisms have been activated, according to the Spanish international news agency EFE.

Ministry sources added that the Spanish embassy and consulate in Israel, along with consular emergency units, are fully operational and in contact with the flotilla's organizers, closely monitoring the situation.

According to local media reports, Israeli authorities said they intercepted the flotilla near the Greek coast and detained 175 activists of various nationalities. Organizers of the flotilla said that around 30 of those detained hold Spanish passports, with about 20 residing in Catalonia, in northeastern Spain.

The ministry also noted that Albares is "in contact with his counterparts" in countries whose nationals were among those detained, coordinating a joint response.

The flotilla, consisting of 58 vessels, set sail from Barcelona on April 15 with the aim of reaching Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the local population.

Meanwhile, the Italian government on Thursday called on Israel to immediately release the 24 Italian nationals detained during the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, and urged the Israeli authorities to provide further details about the incident.

In a statement, the office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the seizure of the vessels and called on Israel to "immediately release all Italians illegally detained, fully respect international law, and guarantee the physical safety of those on board."

According to Italy's ANSA news agency, the flotilla's legal team said Israeli forces intercepted 22 vessels involved in a Gaza-bound aid mission overnight Wednesday, and that 24 of those arrested are Italian nationals.

Meanwhile, Israel's permanent representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon, described the flotilla as "provocative" in a post on social media platform X on Thursday.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is an international initiative aimed at delivering humanitarian aid that has seen repeated attempts to breach Israel's blockade of Gaza. The vessels involved in this mission departed in recent weeks from Marseille in France, Barcelona in Spain and Syracuse in Sicily.