The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on Friday said three out of four Indian cargos of military-grade steel destined for Israel have been detained and are under investigation in Italy.
“Amidst mounting public pressure, Italian authorities are now investigating a shipment of suspected military materials bound for Israel at Cagliari port in Italy,” the statement from the Palestinian-led global movement said.
Italian authorities are already investigating two other similar shipments at Gioia Tauro port.
Investigations by BDS and outlet The Ditch confirm the steel’s dual-use potential for weapons, with one shipment rerouted via Egypt’s Abu Qir port; reports from Quds News and Maritime Executive corroborate the activism-driven probes, though official Italian statements remain limited.
The last shipment was unloaded at the Port of Abu Qir and is expected to be transferred to another vessel en route to Israel. Human rights groups have called on authorities in Cairo to investigate the shipment and suspend its transit.
Egyptian Minister of Information Diaa Rashwan said port operations comply with international maritime agreements, but did not confirm that the military steel shipment has been examined. Lawyers in Egypt previously submitted a formal request to the Public Prosecution, demanding an inquiry into the re-shipment of the military steel through the Port of Abu Qir and calling for its suspension pending investigation.
A new report from the People’s Embargo for Palestine found that 416 military-related shipments, as well as over 200 kilotons of fuel, were transferred from Italy to Israel since 2023 amid the genocide in Gaza.
According to the report, Italy also functioned as a transhipment hub in December 2025 for cargo originating in India and destined for an Israeli military facility. The shipment, produced by R. L. Steels and Energy Ltd in Daulatabad, India, was transported by rail to Nhava Sheva, where it was loaded onto MSC ALBANY following transhipment at Vizhinjam International Seaport.
The cargo arrived at the Medcenter Container Terminal in Gioia Tauro on 14 December 2025. From Gioia Tauro, it departed on 19 December aboard MSC DORADO VIII for onward shipment to the same IMI Systems facility.
As a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), and the Genocide Convention, Italy is legally bound to ensure that its industrial and state exports do not facilitate serious violations of international law, the report said.
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