 "<div>Meloni asks Gaza aid flotilla to stop as it 'risks preventing peace'</div>")
Trump has proposed a 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza that includes conditions for Hamas to disarm and hand over its weapons, which the Palestinian terror group is likely to reject
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has told a flotilla advancing towards Gaza to halt, saying that the efforts to deliver aid by activists on board might hamper with US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.
An Italian naval frigate has been escorting over 40 vessels taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), but Italian officials stated the escort will end once the flotilla reaches a point 150 nautical miles (278 km) from Gaza’s coast.
On Wednesday, GSF said that it has been put on “high alert” and that drone activity was “increasing” above the flotilla.
Trump has proposed a 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza that includes conditions for Hamas to disarm and hand over its weapons, which the Palestinian terror group is likely to reject.
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted Trump’s proposal, Qatar’s foreign ministry has said Hamas is studying the White House proposal “responsibly”.
Meloni said that the US proposal has sparked “hope” of ending the Israel-Hamas war, adding it was “a fragile balance, which many would be happy to destroy”.
“I fear that the flotilla’s attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade could serve as a pretext to do so,” she said. According to AFP, Israel has asked the flotilla to deliver the humanitarian aid to an Israeli port instead.
The flotilla includes over 500 participants, among them Italian politicians and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
In a Telegram post, the GSF stated that it has now entered the area “where previous flotillas have been attacked and/or intercepted.”
“Any other choice risks becoming a pretext for preventing peace, fuelling conflict and therefore affecting above all the people of Gaza,” the Italian PM added.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, however, has said that it will keep sailing towards Gaza. “The Italian navy will not derail this mission. The humanitarian demand to break the blockade cannot be walked back to port,” the group said in a statement.
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