Gaza aid Flotilla reports drone strikes, explosions off Greek coast
Athens: Organisers of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and pro-Palestinian activists reported that their vessels came under suspected drone attacks in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Greece on late Tuesday night (September 23, 2025).
The Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement that “multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed and explosions heard from a number of boats” had been recorded. The group did not immediately confirm whether there were casualties.
German human rights activist Yasemin Acar, speaking in a video posted on Instagram, said five vessels had been struck. “We are carrying only humanitarian aid. We have no weapons. We pose no threat to anyone. It is Israel who is killing thousands of people and starving a whole population,” she said.
Another activist, Brazilian campaigner Thiago Avila, reported that four boats had been “targeted with drones throwing devices” shortly before an explosion was heard in the background of his recording. The flotilla’s official social media page also shared footage of an explosion allegedly captured from its vessel Spectre at “01:43 GMT +3”.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona earlier this month, comprises 51 vessels, most currently near the Greek island of Crete. It seeks to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver supplies to civilians. Among its participants is Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The convoy had already reported two suspected drone strikes while docked in Tunisia earlier in September. Israel, which on Monday reaffirmed it would not allow the flotilla to reach Gaza, previously blocked two similar activist-led sea missions in June and July.
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We will move court again to resist voter deletions: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the BJP and the Election Commission over voter deletions during the SIR exercise and said her party will move a court again to resist the removal of electors from the rolls.
Her comments came after nearly 91 lakh voters' names were deleted from the electoral rolls following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision in the state.
“You will not be able to defeat the TMC by deleting names. We will move a court again to resist the exclusion of names," Banerjee said while attacking her principal challenger BJP over the roll revision exercise.
Banerjee had in February argued in the Supreme Court as she sought an intervention in the SIR process.
The EC figures, which pushed the total deletion to over 90.83 lakh names from the original voter base of 7.66 crore in October 2025, showed that the proportion of removal of electors now remains at over 11.85 per cent.
Criticising the poll panel over the SIR process, she also said, "We will fight legally to get the names included on the list as per the Constitution. If people cannot cast their votes, what is the need to frame the tribunal? And then you are saying that the list has been frozen. What is this? We will challenge it and try to understand it."
Addressing a poll rally at Arambagh in Hooghly district, the TMC supremo accused the saffron party of trying to manipulate the electoral rolls and offering money to woo voters.
Banerjee also charged the Election Commission with intimidating people over the phone.
“It (EC) is working at the behest of the BJP. It is calling people over the telephone to threaten and intimidate them,” she claimed.
Later, while speaking at a rally in Balagarh in the same district, Banerjee warned that voting for the BJP would effectively mean "giving up fish, meat, and speaking in Bengali".
“People are not allowed to eat eggs, fish, or meat in the BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. The same will happen here if the BJP comes to power," Banerjee claimed.
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