Some of the 20 ships hoisting the Palestinian flag docked in the port in Barcelona, Spain, on Sept. 1. On Tuesday, the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was bringing aid to Gaza, was hit by a drone attack. Photo by Quique Garcia/EPA
A flotilla carrying aid bound for Gaza was attacked off the coast of Greece Tuesday by drones, the flotilla said.
Organizers of the flotilla reported that “more than 15” drones targeted several of its boats. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is taking part in the flotilla.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is a civilian fleet of more than 50 small vessels from 44 countries, which aims to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, where war has escalated recently with Israel’s invasion of Gaza City.
“Multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed and explosions heard from a number of boats,” the group posted in a statement on Instagram. They reported at least nine attacks on eight boats.
“We will not be intimidated,” the group said. “These tactics will not deter us from our mission to deliver aid to Gaza and break the illegal siege.”
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said he ordered an Italian Navy frigate to head toward the GSF to help Italian citizens on board. Several Italian politicians are aboard the boats.
Italian Member of Parliament Arturo Scotto described “sound bombs, flashbangs,” while Italian Member of the European Parliament Benedetta Scuderi said there were three hours of incidents that she said could have caused serious injury, BBC reported.
Unverified CCTV video footage released by the GSF showed a man on board a yacht jumping onto the deck following what appeared to be an explosion nearby, BBC reported. An explosion was also visible in a second video that the GSF said was filmed from the vessel Spectre.
A press release from the GSF said “at least 13 explosions were heard on and around several flotilla boats, with widespread disruption in communications, raising urgent concerns for the safety of participants. … Flotilla participants reported objects being dropped on at least 10 boats from drones or aircrafts, causing damage.”
The release said Israel is justifying the use of force against GSF.
“Israel continues to falsely label the GSF the ‘Hamas flotilla,’ asserting that it plans to engage in violent action. This disinformation campaign is an attempt to pre-emptively justify military action against a civilian-led, nonviolent, humanitarian mission.”
Israel hasn’t responded, but it has said in the past that it will not allow the GSF to reach Gaza.
Thunberg called the attack a “scare tactic.”
“We were aware of the risks of these kind of attacks so that’s not something that is going to stop us,” she said in a livestreamed conversation with Francesca Albanese of the U.N. “We’re very, very determined to continue our mission.”
It’s not the first time Gaza aid vessels have been hit.
On Sept. 9, the Portuguese Family Boat, part of the GSF, was struck by a drone while in port in Tunisia.
In May, The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said its boat was attacked by drones about 16 miles off the coast of Malta, with 30 activists on board.
In June, a small civilian ship with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza was boarded by the Israeli military and rerouted. Israel called it a “selfie yacht.” Greta Thunberg was deported from Israel soon after.
