Last night several Israeli Air Force assets were tracked over the central Mediterranean. Some of them landed, while others orbited in flight.
Several analysts followed these unusual movements: from Sergio Scandura, who first tracked the arrival of an Israeli C-130 at Sigonella, to @MenchOsint, who reported two surveillance aircraft — a Gulfstream Nahshon-Shavit and a Gulfstream Nahshon-Eitan — orbiting over the Strait of Sicily.
Reviewing the tracks, we also identified a third Israeli C-130J in the same area.
But let’s go in order.
Yesterday afternoon, three Israeli Air Force Hercules took off from Nevatim Air Base in Israel heading west. These included two Lockheed KC-130H (we know the registration of one of them, 522) and one C-130J (reg. 662 – c/s PILO01). The first two landed at Sigonella in the evening and departed back to Israel after just over three hours on the ground. The third aircraft’s destination is unclear, as its track disappeared near Malta.
While the C-130s were on the ground, two IAF surveillance aircraft arrived over the Sicilian Channel: a Gulfstream Nahshon-Shavit (reg. 679) and a Gulfstream Nahshon-Eitan (reg. 569 – c/s HUNTER01). Both orbited in the area until the C-130s took off again, after which they also headed back to Israel.
The reason behind these movements is not clear, but they are certainly unusual. Some have suggested a possible link to the flotilla bound for Gaza — which is expected to make stops in Sicily (Catania and Syracuse in particular) — but at the moment there is no concrete evidence connecting last night’s flights with the flotilla’s activities.
@ „Some have suggested a possible link to the flotilla bound for Gaza“
This sounds reasonable, because there seems to be a Number of spanish Activists agitating against Israel and pro Palestine. Israel will not be happy about that. We will certainly see a Reaction.