Italian Parliament Member: Stefania Ascari’s Stefano flotilla peaceful mission, protecting participants Intel responsibility

Italian Parliament Member Stefania Ascari affirmed on Thursday that the Stefano Flotilla’s mission to the Gaza Strip is peaceful and aims to draw attention to the dire humanitarian conditions in the Strip.

In a statement to Al Jazeera, Ascari warned that any attack on the flotilla would be considered a terrorist act, and that any Israeli targeting of it would constitute a war crime.

She added that the Italian ships accompanying the Stefano Flotilla would provide protection for its participants, stressing the need to impose sanctions on Israel if the flotilla’s activists are harmed.

Ascari indicated that the international community’s support and monitoring of the flotilla’s journey represents a humanitarian and legal responsibility to ensure that aid and humanitarian messages reach Gaza safely.

With American and European support, the Israeli enemy army has continued, since October 7, 2023, to commit crimes of genocide, siege, and starvation in the Gaza Strip. These crimes have resulted in the deaths of 65,502 Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom are children and women, and the injury of 167,376 others. To date, this is a preliminary toll, with thousands of victims still buried under the rubble and on the streets, unable to be reached by ambulances and rescue teams.