The 40-43 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, headed to Israel to deliver food to Gaza, ended their voyage at 2:00 PM: Over 443 volunteers from 47 countries were arrested after the Israeli navy intercepted the flotilla. At 8:30 PM Italian time on October 1, Benjamin Netanyahu declared: “Instructions have been given not to allow the fleet’s ships to reach Gaza under any circumstances.”
As early as 11:24, the Israel Broadcasting Authority, citing army sources, stated: “None of the Sumud Flotilla’s vessels managed to enter our territorial waters off the coast of Gaza. Only one vessel reached Israeli territorial waters.” Only one vessel, in fact, approached territorial waters. The ‘Mikeno (Al-Bireh)’, which disappeared from radar last night, reappeared 9 kilometers from Gaza’s territorial waters. The first to be intercepted was the Alma. The operation began around 8:00 PM on October 1 and continued through the night. By 10:00 PM, six of the 40 vessels had been captured. Israel used water cannons and unidentified chemical substances to stop the vessels, and the vessels’ cameras were turned off. At 2:55 AM, 30 vessels were still sailing at full speed toward Gaza, just 46 nautical miles from territorial waters. At 9:47 a.m., the Israeli navy claimed to have seized the 40 vessels of the Flotilla.
According to Channel 13: “The large number of participants in the Convoy of Steadfastness forced the army to call in hundreds of navy soldiers on Yom Kippur night to control the convoy and prevent it from reaching Gaza.” The blockade of the vessels sparked street protests in many parts of the world: Turkey: Istanbul, Ankara; Kayseri; Italy: Rome, Naples, Genoa, Milan, Turin, Florence, Pisa, Livorno, Pistoia, Siena, La Spezia; France: Paris; Spain: Barcelona; Belgium: Brussels; Greece: Athens; Germany: Berlin; Tunisia, Tunis; Mauritania, Nouakchott.”
“Israel’s response to the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, went beyond self-defense. “Italy is ready to consider imposing new sanctions against the Israeli government in connection with its colonization of territory in the West Bank,” said Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani. A general strike by the Italian Workers’ Union is taking place in Italy today due to the Italian government’s negligence in protecting the fleet.
South African President: “The interception of the Flotilla’s ships in international waters off the coast of Gaza confirms Israel’s continued violations of international law.”
From Brazil: “We call on the Israeli government to guarantee the safety of activists transporting humanitarian aid on the fleet bound for Gaza.” Venezuela: Caracas “condemns Israel’s cowardly act of piracy against the Global Sumud Flotilla.”
Journalist Khalil Nasrallah reports: “In response to the Israeli Navy’s detention of two Colombian citizens who were aboard the Freedom Flotilla while exercising their right to solidarity with the Palestine, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the immediate cancellation of the free trade agreement with “Israel,” accusing Netanyahu of committing a new international crime. Petro orders the departure of the Israeli diplomat in Colombia.
The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Palestine: “It is a disgrace that Western governments colluded to intercept the Freedom Flotilla and arrest its participants.”
The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the arrest of 24 Turkish citizens during the Israeli attack on the “Freedom Flotilla.” Spain summons the Israeli embassy’s charge d’affaires after intercepting the humanitarian flotilla headed for Gaza. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim: “Israel is arresting 23 Malaysians who were aboard the humanitarian flotilla headed for the Gaza Strip.”
From the Jerusalem Post: Six American billionaires of Jewish origin (Jan Koum, Michael Dell, Bill Ackman, Marc Benioff, Larry Ellison, and Michael Bloomberg) secretly finance and support Israel’s wars with billions of dollars, away from the spotlight. And Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has declared that all social media influencers paid by the Israeli government or any foreign government to promote that country’s interests must register with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
The Canadian government : Remains concerned about Iranian nuclear enrichment activities: Iran’s nuclear activities remain a serious threat to regional and international security. Iran is ignoring its international obligations despite repeated calls to limit its nuclear program to peaceful purposes. Officials in Iran expect the current ceasefire with Israel to collapse and fighting to resume soon. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has ordered officials to appoint their successors to ensure continuity of work in the event of war.
A diplomatic source from the Lebanese channel MTV: “Lebanon awaits Ortagus’s visit on the 14th of this month to participate for the third time in the ceasefire monitoring committee meeting scheduled for November 15th, and awaits Israel’s responses. US aid to the army, amounting to nearly $200 million, has been threatened, but efforts have been made to bring it back on track for approval, and Ortagus contributed to this. The Americans want to demonstrate greater progress by announcing military operations in southern or even northern Lebanon, but this issue has its own considerations and limitations on the Lebanese side. There is a desire internationally, and particularly in the United States, for the army to automatically implement any operation requested by the ‘mechanism,’ even if it requires storming homes and other facilities, but the army is aware of the nature of its work. A session is scheduled in which the army will present its first monthly report to ministers, and Lebanon will seek to use the three-month deadline to complete its work in the south, with the ambition that Israel will be able to withdrawals at that time.”
And now a look at the military scenarios. Israeli Army Spokesperson: “The Israeli Air Force recently intercepted a drone launched from Yemen.” At 9:20 PM on October 1, Lloyd’s List UK Shipping Affairs: Houthi sanctions against 13 American oil companies and their executives, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, increase the complexity of risk assessment, although the targeting criteria remain unclear.
A US reconnaissance drone flies near the Strait of Hormuz. Flight tracking sites detected a US MQ-4C Triton reconnaissance drone over the Persian Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz.
On October 2nd, Syrian sources reported: “An Israeli force is advancing toward Abu Talha Hill. Qubais near the town of Koudna, in the Quneitra countryside.”
In Lebanon, late on October 1st, an Israeli drone strike targeted the town of Kafra.
During the night of the Gaza Flotilla, the Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack on Ashdod with a missile in response to the attack on civilians. Five rockets were fired, and Iron Dome intercepted four. The target was likely the Israeli naval base in Ashdod, intended to distract the navy from the attack on the flotilla. According to Israeli media: “At least one missile fell in the Ashdod area during the latest bombardment.”
Avi Ashkenazi, military correspondent for Maariv: “Rockets, explosives, and explosive materials, Ramallah is on the brink of an explosion.” Israeli army and Shin Bet forces discovered a weapons laboratory in the town of Beitunia, near Ramallah, on the evening of October 30. They found 15 unfinished rockets, explosive devices, and explosive materials. Border Guard explosives experts destroyed the combat equipment on site. Maariv’s military correspondent believes that the findings on the combat equipment, including the rockets, indicate that the attack is not a local initiative, but rather a direct and funded effort to establish a quality infrastructure (rockets, grenades) in the West Bank as well. On October 2, the Al-Quds Brigades – Jenin Battalion claimed responsibility for an attack: “We detonated an explosive device against Israeli military reinforcements who were storming the town of Ya’bad, causing casualties.” Palestinian sources: “Israeli military vehicles attack the town of Al-Bireh, in the central West Bank.”
Gaza Ministry of Health: 77 dead and 222 wounded have arrived in Gaza Strip hospitals in the last 24 hours due to Israel’s silence. According to the Government Press Office in Gaza: Only 1,824 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip out of 18,000 in the last month.
The Israeli air force carried out six raids on a residential block of the “Daghmash” family in the Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City. Ambushes against soldiers in Gaza City are increasing; Hamas fighters are also speaking Hebrew due to the traps.
On the 2nd October: Israeli bombardment of southern Gaza City neighborhoods. On October 1, Al-Qassam claimed multiple mortar attacks on a gathering of soldiers and vehicles near the “Rosary Sisters” school in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, south of Gaza City. On October 2, Israeli media reported a security incident in Gaza. Palestinian sources reported that a large explosive device detonated in an Israeli tank belonging to the 53rd Armored Brigade in Gaza City. The wounded were evacuated.
A statement from Al-Awda – Al-Nuseirat Hospital said: “Nine dead and 13 wounded in the last 24 hours, due to the Israeli army’s ongoing attacks on camps in the central Gaza Strip, in addition to civilians displaced on Al-Rashid Street as it moves toward the southern sector.” The Al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for an attack on October 1 that destroyed an Israeli military vehicle with a Thaqib-type explosive device—which we had previously planted—in the town of Al-Zahra, in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli drone strike in the Buba area, east of the Hakr al-Jami area in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.
Prisoners’ Press Office, from family sources: “Nurse Tasneem, daughter of Dr. Marwan Al-Hams, was kidnapped by a special forces inside her workplace in one of the medical centers in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. It is reported that Dr. Al-Hams was kidnapped in the same manner last July; Israel is preventing him from meeting with his lawyers.”
At least 10 people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Mawasi Regional Park in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. In addition to these, eight aid seekers were killed while trying to reach food distribution points.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
