Activists report drone strike on Gaza aid ship
Activists intending to send an aid ship to Gaza claimed that drones hit it in foreign waters off the Maltese coast, the BBC via Reuters reported on May 2nd.
According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, its ship, known as “The Conscience,” had been hit at 00:23 local time. The Coalition had intended to travel to Gaza and tackle the Israeli blockade.
The NGO urged for Israeli ambassadors to explain the “violation of international law.” An explanation which the NGO wanted to cover both the “ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel.”
The Israeli armed forces stated they were investigating all claims about the assault. The government of Malta said everyone on the ship is safe and that a fire on the ship had been “brought under control overnight.” The coalition uploaded a video that showed the blaze on the ship.
“It’s a full-on situation for them but they’re recovering,” volunteer Surya McEwen told the BBC. He added that the event had been an “unprovoked attack on a civilian vessel in international waters, trying to do a humanitarian mission.”
The coalition stated that it had organised a sailing mission to Gaza with passengers, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
Thunberg declared in an interview the voyage was “one of many attempts to open up a humanitarian corridor and to do our part to keep trying to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza.” She told Reuters the incident had “caused an explosion and major damage to the vessel.” Damage so severe, it “made it impossible to continue the mission,” she added.
Thunberg noted that, to her knowledge, the vessel remains at the assault site since moving it risks severe flooding. “What is certain is that we human rights activists will continue to do everything in our power to do our part, to demand a free Palestine and demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor,” she said.
Thunberg and the Freedom Flotilla Coalition claimed 30 individuals were aboard, not 16 as the Maltese authorities reported. Hamas released a declaration regarding the Malta event, alleging that Israel has committed “piracy” and “state terrorism.”
In a related development, a report from the British Palestinian Committee (BPC) highlighted Britain’s significant involvement in Israel’s Gaza conflict, the Middle East Eye reported on January 28th.
The BPC urged the UK to halt military cooperation with the Israeli forces. The report stated the British government “has not been directly perpetrating violence in Gaza.” However, it said the UK has been involved in the sense of authorizing arms licences and cultivating closer military ties with Israel.
BBC, Reuters
