Click to see full-size image. (Government of Malta)
A ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists bound for the Gaza Strip was attacked by drones while in international waters off the coast of Malta over the night of May 1 and 2, The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a pro-Palestinian activist group, said.
“The Conscience, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship, came under direct attack in international waters,” the group said in a statement.
“The Freedom Flotilla Coalition had been organizing a nonviolent action under a media black out to avoid any potential sabotage. Volunteers from over 21 countries travelled to Malta to board the mission to Gaza, including prominent figures,” it continued.
“On the morning of their scheduled departure, the vessel was attacked. Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull. The last communication in the early morning of the 2nd of May, indicated the drones are still circling the ship,” the group added.
The ship immediately issued an SOS distress call, to which Cyprus responded by dispatching a vessel, according to the group.
“The drone strike appears to have deliberately targeted the ship’s generator, leaving the crew without power and placing the vessel at great risk of sinking,” the group said.
The group went on to accuse Malta of violating customary international law by not sending assistance to the damaged ship.
These claims were rejected by the Maltese government, which said in a statement that a tugboat was sent to the area and brought the fire under control.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition blamed Israel for the attack, saying in its statement: “Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters.”
Israel remained silent. However, Yedioth Ahronoth military correspondent Yossi Yehoshua hinted that the country was indeed behind the attack.
“Some define the ship attacked next to Malta as Hamas-affiliated, and say that it was a sophisticated aerial attack,” he wrote on the X social network.
The Israeli war on Gaza, which was sparked by the October 7 Hamas-led surprise attack of 2023, has so far claimed the lives of more than 52,000 Palestinians.
In March, Israel restricted aid to the Strip, ignoring a ceasefire agreement that was brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar in January. Soon after, it resumed its offensive against Hamas. Within a few weeks, Israeli troops occupied 30% of the enclave, cornering more than two million Palestinains in semi-isolated pockets with no functioning infrastructure or sufficient aid.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition state said that the ship that came under attack was on a mission to “to challenge Israel’s illegal and deadly siege of Gaza, and to deliver desperately needed, lifesaving aid.”
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