Multiple Boats On The Global Sumud Flotilla Have Been Attacked Again As They Get Closer To Gaza
At least 13 explosions hit the Global Sumud Flotilla’s boats again on Sept. 23, following two drone strikes in early September.
As the Global Sumud Flotilla nears its destination of Gaza with the aim of delivering aid, multiple boats have been attacked in international waters with targeted explosions and unidentified objects being dropped on or near the boats.
On Tuesday, Sept. 23, at least 13 explosions were heard on and around several flotilla boats, causing widespread disruption in communications, the group said.
In addition, flotilla participants reported objects being dropped on at least 10 boats from drones or aircraft, causing damage.
The latest attacks came after two boats, including the flotilla’s main Family boat, were bombed in Tunisian waters by drones earlier in September.
The Global Sumud Flotilla has blamed Israel — which has called the humanitarian mission the “Hamas flotilla — for the attacks, saying they are an orchestrated attempt to distract and derail its mission but it remained undeterred.
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.
It had reached Tunis in Tunisia, on Sept. 7, to meet with other groups of activists to sail together to Gaza.
Israel has repeatedly sabotaged all previous attempts to break its siege on Gaza since 2010, including its deadly assault on the Mavi Marmara in 2010, and in 2025, seizing the Madleen in June and the Handala in July, when it detained and deported the activists on the vessels and confiscated the aid.
Flavie Chen
Kassy Cho
Vicky Ho
