A flotilla bound for Gaza has rejected calls from the Italian government for the Catholic Church to redistribute the aid it is carrying.

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), made up of 52 boats including civilian vessels, has been held in Greek waters for several days.

On Wednesday night, activists on board reported seeing flares and unidentified objects being dropped onto the boats, which they described as an “alarming escalation.”

Spain and Italy have deployed naval ships to join the flotilla and protect it in international waters. It is now making its way toward Gaza, where the UN has declared that a genocide is taking place.

President Sergio Mattarella said on Friday: “I take the liberty of appealing … to the women and men of the Flotilla to take up the willingness offered by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem—which is also firmly and courageously committed in its closeness to the people of Gaza—to carry out the task of safely delivering the solidarity that has been destined for the children, women, and men of Gaza.”

“The value of human life, which seems to have lost all meaning in Gaza, where it is severely trampled on with inhuman suffering for the population, requires that we avoid putting the safety of any person at risk,” he said.

The Israeli government supported his proposal, but the GSF refused.

Activist Greta Thunberg is on board one of the boats. It is her second attempt to reach the enclave, after a vessel the Israeli government branded a “selfie yacht” was stopped in June.

Thunberg, who shared clips of the voyage and her arrest on social media, is determined to deliver the aid.

“I don’t think anyone would risk their life for a publicity stunt,” she told the BBC.

Last month, a UN-backed body confirmed that the situation in Gaza amounts to a man-made famine.