I think it's just understood that the flotilla is performative. Their supplies are negligible, and in any case there's no shortage of supplies at the borders of Gaza. The challenge was never procuring aid, but getting it to civilians without anyone getting killed, and without it being seized & resold. So IMO this is really about a photo op, not about aid.

Given the lack of other concrete impacts, I suspect the decision probably came down to the risks of them being harmed and Israel being blamed.

> Why does this government think this is a good look?

I don’t think they care. At this point even former national leaders of Israel are calling this a genocide.

The only thing that matters is not being held to account. If any soldier of a NATO nation shot into a crowd of unarmed pedestrians they would be in jail. Greta Thunberg carries media attention. If she is killed by Israeli armed forces somebody might actually try to hold Israel and/or their soldiers to account.