MADRID: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday he will join Italy in sending a military warship to protect an international flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza after it was attacked by drones off Greece.

Sanchez told a press conference in New York where he has been attending the UN General Assembly that the citizens of 45 countries were on board to deliver food to the population of Gaza and express solidarity with their suffering.

"The government of Spain insists that international law be respected and that the right of our citizens should be respected to sail through the Mediterranean in safe conditions," he said."Tomorrow we will dispatch a naval vessel from Cartagena with all necessary resources in case it was necessary to assist the flotilla and carry out a rescue operation."

The Global Sumud Flotilla is using about 50 civilian boats to try to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, with many lawyers and activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.