The Global Sumud Flotilla’s Main Ship Was Bombed By A Drone And Caught Fire Off Tunisian Waters
The boat was carrying humanitarian supplies and prominent activists who had previously attempted to sail to Gaza on the Madleen, another Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship, with the goal of breaking Israel’s siege.
The main ship in the Global Sumud Flotilla fleet of aid ships bound for Gaza was bombed by a drone and caught fire in Tunisian waters on Monday, Sept. 8.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, the largest civilian fleet of mostly small boats, had sailed from Barcelona, Spain, on Aug. 31, carrying activists including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg and Nelson Mandela's grandson, Mandla Mandela, to break Israel’s siege on Gaza.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said the attack hit the Family Boat, sailing under a Portuguese flag, at 11:45pm on Monday as it prepared to restock in Bizerte, Tunisia.
The boat was carrying humanitarian supplies and prominent activists who had previously attempted to sail to Gaza on the Madleen, another Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship, with the goal of breaking Israel’s siege.
Footage captured by the Family Boat’s security cameras showed crew members looking up and jumping back before an explosion.
Miguel Duarte, a Portuguese activist who was on board the ship, told the Middle East Eye that he saw a drone hovering over the vessel before it dropped an explosive device.
Another video taken from a vessel near the Family Boat showing an incendiary device falling on the boat and causing an explosion.
The attack caused flames to spread across the ship’s main and storage decks and damaged cargo areas, but all six people on board at the time were unharmed.
The Global Sumud Flotilla group have blamed Israel for the attack, saying there is “no other authority that would do such an attack, such a crime, except the Israeli authorities.”
“They have been committing genocide for the past 22 months, and they are willing to attack a peaceful, non-violent flotilla,” a spokesperson added in a statement posted on the flotilla’s
Tunisia’s National Guard, however, have denied that there was a drone attack saying on its Facebook page that its investigations show the explosion may have occurred after life jackets on board caught fire “as a result of a lighter or cigarette butt”.
“There was no evidence of any hostile act or external targeting,” it added.
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
