by Lloyd's List

3 September 2025 (Lloyd's List) - AN ITALIAN dockworkers union has threatened to close ports to Israeli shipments if Israel intercepts an aid flotilla en route to the country.

The Unione Sindacato di Base (USB) trade union made the statement as the Global Sumud Flotilla — the fourth and largest effort to get aid to Gaza since the start of 2025 — departed from Genoa on Monday.

The USB said during a rally in Genoa that the flotilla would be approaching the coast of Gaza by mid-September.

“If we lose contact with our boats, with our comrades, even for just 20 minutes, we will shut down all of Europe,” a representative said.

“We will launch an international strike, we will block the roads, we will block the schools, we will block everything.”

The flotilla aims to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza after several warnings came from the UN agencies on famine in Gaza, following Israel’s military operations over the past two years.

Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that he aimed to designate all the activists in the flotilla as “terrorists” and arrest them.

“They will face the full consequences of their actions,” Ben-Gvir said on Sunday.

There have been several attempts to reach the coast of Gaza since 2008. In 2010, Israeli soldiers raided Mavi Marmara, which had sailed from Türkiye in international waters in the East Mediterranean, killing 10 activists and injuring dozens.

In July 2025, Handala, another ship carrying aid and activists to Gaza, was intercepted by Israel in the Mediterranean. In June 2025, Madleen was also intercepted in international waters and a dozen activists were detained by Israel. And in the first attempt to arrive Gaza in May this year, Conscience was attacked by drones just 16 nautical miles off Malta’s coast, causing a fire and forcing the crew to return. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.