The Israel Defense Forces has released a video showing a coastal defense exercise conducted by the Israeli Navy together with the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division. The training was organized in anticipation of the possible appearance off the coast of the new Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of approximately 20 vessels carrying 350 pro-Palestine activists, including Greta Thunberg aboard the MY Sirius.

The video, also posted on the IDF's YouTube channel, highlights training for a complex scenario, in which a large number of vessels could put pressure on Israeli interdiction capabilities, and that the naval forces appear to be preparing for the possibility of direct conflict. The navy has seven Shaldag-class vessels and 18 Super Dvora-class vessels for coastal patrol, as well as 15 Sa'ar-class missile-launched vessels, some of which are already engaged in the Red Sea and along the Lebanese and Gaza coasts. The Israeli navy arrested the last flotilla in June, taking the passengers to Ashdod before expelling them. This time, Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin is demanding that anyone arrested be sentenced to prison terms, as Security Minister Ben-Gvir had already proposed. The Israeli response must at least try to prevent similar missions from being repeated.

Meanwhile, the Global Sumud Flotilla will no longer depart from Sicily on September 7th, as planned. This is to accommodate the technical timing of the ships arriving from Tunisia and Barcelona, the organizers announced. Maria Elena Delia, the delegation's spokesperson, says that everything is ready,"but we must understand that the scope of our mission is global, not national. Departures from Sicily will take place in conjunction with the rest of the Flotilla. We cannot indicate an exact departure date." The organizers announced that the national mobilization in Rome, with the torchlight procession on Sunday, September 7th, departing from Piazza Vittorio and arriving at Piramide, scheduled for 7:00 PM, has been confirmed.