Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said 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.

Mr 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.”

Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto yesterday said he would send a navy frigate to assist the flotilla.

He expressed the “strongest condemnation” of the “attack” on the flotilla and said the navy vessel is en route to the area “for possible rescue operations”.

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.

The vessels were attacked by 12 drones in international waters 56 kilometres off the Greek island of Gavdos, said Marikaiti Stasinou, a spokesperson for March to Gaza Greece, which is part of the flotilla.

Ms Thunberg told Reuters on Monday that they had drones flying over them each night.

“This mission is about Gaza, it isn’t about us. And no risks that we could take could even come close to the risks the Palestinians are facing every day,” she said in a videocall from the ship.

Irish activist Sarah Clancy, who is part of the flotilla, said drones targeting their boats are an attempt to harass and intimidate them.

She said nine or ten boats in the flotilla were hit by projectiles that emitted smoke dropped from the drones.

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) departed Barcelona on 31 August, with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza. It currently numbers 51 vessels, most of which are off the Greek island of Crete.

Israel has repeatedly criticised the flotilla for its implied support for Hamas, but made no comment on whether it was responsible for the drones.

It launched the war in Gaza in response to attacks on 7 October 2023 by Hamas militants, which killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, the conflict has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and has spread famine, destroyed most buildings and displaced the population, in many cases multiple times.

The Taoiseach is in Canada for a bilateral meeting with the Canadian Prime Minster Mark Carney.

The two leaders are expected to discuss trade, Ukraine and Gaza.

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada have cost Canadian exporters five billion dollars so far this year, and have soured relations between the two, as have President Trumps jibes about making Canada the 51st state.

Canadians have responded with informal boycotts of US goods.

The country is actively looking to make up those losses with expanded trade links elsewhere.

Exports to the EU have gone up 26% since Mr Trump returned to the White House.

Micheál Martin said Ireland will ratify the Canada Europe Trade Agreement in the Dáil in the coming months.

Its provisional application has already seen an increase in bilateral trade.

The wars in Ukraine and Gaza will also be discussed as Canada is a significant participant in international peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts.

The Environmental Protection Agency said more needs to be done to protect clean air in towns, villages and cities across the country.

Although air quality in Ireland is generally good and meets all current EU legal requirements, the EPA is concerned that it will be challenging to meet more stringent pollution limits due to come into force in 2030.

A new law imposing tougher air quality standards under a new Ambient Air Quality Directive was adopted by Europe in October last year.

It has not yet been transposed into Irish law, but there is a requirement for that to happen by the end of next year.

It aims to gradually align EU air quality standards with the latest World Health Organization levels, which are extremely tough.

As a result, it is expected that Ireland will need to achieve new and updated air quality standards with very tight limits by the start of 2030.

Those new limits will include targets for ultrafine particles of pollution and black carbon, which are not covered by the current requirements.

The EPA uses an extensive network of 115 stations to monitor air quality around the country.

Its Air Quality in Ireland 2024 report said around 1,700 premature deaths occur in Ireland each year because of poor air quality.

The aim of the new EU directive is to reduce premature deaths linked to pollution in Europe by 55% by 2030.

Today’s report said Ireland is currently on course to achieve only 93% compliance with the proposed new limits for fine particulate matter, and 78% for nitrogen dioxide.

The main sources for these pollutants are solid fuel burning in open fires and emissions from road traffic.

The report said a decisive shift away from solid fuel burning, alongside the adoption of electric vehicles, efforts to reduce traffic, and the promotion of public transport, will be needed if Ireland is to meet the new standards.

Director of the EPA’s Office of Radiation Protection and Environmental Monitoring, Pat Byrne, said: “Supporting people to shift towards cleaner heating and more sustainable travel isn’t about giving something up. It is about gaining healthier air and healthier lives.”