The organisers of an international aid flotilla say they are determined to press on with attempts to break an Israeli naval embargo on Gaza.

This is Italy’s plea to accept a compromise proposal and not take further risks.

Drones carrying stun grenades and itching powder in international waters 30 nautical miles, or 56 kilometres, off the Greek coast hit the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which is made up of about 50 civilian boats, on Wednesday.

No one was injured, but vessels suffered some damage. The GSF blamed Israel, which did not respond to the accusation but said it would use any means to block the boats’ access to Gaza.

Dr Fatima Hendricks is a South African activist on one of the boats.

“We are in Crete territorial waters this morning – we are docked, and we are waiting on the ocean. There’s been a breakdown in one of the main boats, so we are waiting for those repairs to be done – and we’ve been on the ocean now for about 13 days, and we’re trying to get to Gaza. It’s still another 450 or so nautical miles to go,”explains Hendricks.