ACTIVISTS on ships crossing the Mediterranean Sea in a bid to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza have spotted multiple unidentified drones following their convoy.

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), a civilian-led humanitarian mission consisting of over 500 people from at least 44 different countries on 51 ships, posted a warning to their followers on social media messaging app Telegram on Sunday night.

“Multiple drones — whose origin has not yet been identified — have been spotted near and following the fleet,” the message read.

In an update this morning, GSF said several drones had followed the fleet across the Mediterranean, but no major incidents had been reported.

“We expect this kind of surveillance to become the norm for the rest of the mission,” the group said.

“It coincides with ongoing attempts to criminalise and delegitimise a civilian mission whose only purpose is to challenge the siege and stand with Palestinians.”

Most of the flotilla set sail from the Italian island of Sicily late on Friday night and is currently between Italy and Greece, around 700 nautical miles from Gaza.

Meanwhile, in Italy, tens of thousands of workers downed tools to take part in a 24-hour general strike in protest at the far-right government’s support for Israel.

The stoppage, called for by the Grassroots Trade Union (USB), started at 11pm on Sunday night and caused major disruption across the country today, delaying trains, Metro services, ferries and other public transport. Schools and ports were closed, as were many government buildings.

Huge marches in support of the Palestinian people took place in Milan, Pisa, Bologna and elsewhere. Organisers of the march in Rome said 100,000 people were in attendance.

Before the strike, USB said in a statement: “The horror of what we’re seeing in Gaza has finally spilled over into a great need for participation and a shared cry: ‘We are not like you’.”

The union said it hoped the strike would "send a signal to the Palestinian population that we, who know, who have seen [their suffering], have not stood idly by but have tried to help and defend them.”

In Gaza, Israeli forces continued their relentless bombardment today, killing at least 31 people, including 27 in besieged Gaza City.

The Israeli military ordered the Jordanian Field Hospital in the city to evacuate in the morning.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the hospital contains at least 300 patients, as well as medical staff and family members.

Thousands of people, many of whom have not been able to flee, remain in the city.