The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) that sent Greta Thunberg on a boat to a military blockade claims the boat was “hit by a drone” in Tunisian waters.
The “drone” could not be confirmed, but videos show a part of the boat on fire. Thunberg, who already sailed to Gaza and was arrested and deported by the IDF, made an announcement that no one was hurt and she wasn’t on the boat, adding that it won’t stop “our struggle.”
Flotilla participant Yasmine Aker, who was filmed in October celebrating Iranian strikes on Israel, put up a dramatic video on Instagram, claiming, “The Family boat has been officially attacked – a drone came right above it, released a bomb and it exploded and the boat was on fire. Everyone on that boat is ok. The fire is out.”
No country has yet officially claimed responsibility for the incident, which has damaged the vessel.
Israeli authorities warned that the activists would be subject to arrest if they attempted to breach the naval blockade.
This batch of boats departed from Barcelona to the Gaza Strip in August with humanitarian aid and activists on board in the largest attempt yet to break the long Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea.
This comes as Israel has stepped up its offensive on Gaza City, limiting the deliveries of food and basic supplies in the north of the Palestinian territory. Food experts warned earlier this month that the city was in famine and that half a million people across the strip were facing catastrophic levels of hunger.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is carrying food, water, and medicine. Previous flotillas that were seized by Israel had the aid redistributed into Israeli aid trucks while activists were deported and arrested.
They will be joined by more ships from ports in Italy and Tunisia in the coming days, on the route from the western end of the Mediterranean to the Gaza Strip, organizers said.
Thousands of supporters flocked to the Barcelona pier, some of them wearing kaffiyehs and chanting “Free Palestine!” and “Boycott Israel!” to send off a wide variety of boats, flying Palestinian flags, from rundown old luxury yachts to tiny wooden sailboats and industrial-looking vessels. One of them, the Sirus, is more than 100 years old.
Around 70 boats are expected to take part in the final leg of the journey, flotilla spokesperson Saif Abukeshek told Spanish public television after the departure. The fleet could reach Gaza around Sept. 14 or 15, he added.
Israel’s naval blockade on Gaza was imposed in 2007 after Hamas took control of the Strip, two years after Israel’s withdrawl. According to Israel, the blockade is to prevent Hamas from smuggling arms by sea.
Israel has not lifted the blockade through previous conflicts or during the current war, which began when Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says that Israel’s retaliatory offensive has since killed almost 63,000 Palestinians, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters. Israel says the number includes 22,000 combatants killed by the IDF in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught, reports the Times of Israel.
