I was on deck when I heard a drone. I came out from under the roof and saw a drone hovering three, four meters above my head, says the Portuguese activist Miguel Duarte at a hastily convened press conference in a gathered crowd in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.
I shouted to my crew members and there we stood with the drone above our heads. We saw how it moved towards the bow of the boat, positioned itself above the life jackets and dropped a bomb. The bomb exploded, it hit a large flame and a fire broke out on board.
Accuses Israel
The ship is one of several in a convoy traveling to Gaza to break Israel's blockade of the area and deliver emergency aid. The Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is said to have been on the ship where the fire occurred.
Several Portuguese citizens were attacked on a ship sailing under the Portuguese flag, notes the Portuguese left-wing parliamentarian Mariana Mortágua, who is also part of the activist group. She urges European leaders to react.
We have the law on our side. If this trip poses a risk, it is because a state does not follow international law and that state is Israel, says Mortágua.
Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, also met the crowd in Tunis and called on all parties to remain calm with the hope that the group's mission can be fulfilled.
Several video clips
Tunisia's national guard initially contradicted the report that the boat had been attacked by a drone. A spokesperson speculated that the fire may have been caused by a cigarette.
Global Sumud Flotilla has published several surveillance videos from different angles on different boats showing how something hits one of the boats in the darkness and causes a fire. Before the impact, a humming sound is heard and people are heard calling for help.
Also in early May, a ship with activists on their way to the Gaza Strip said it had been attacked by drones in the Mediterranean. This happened just off Malta.
In June, another convoy of ships, where Greta Thunberg also participated, was stopped by the Israeli military in international waters off Gaza. The group on board was detained and taken to Israel, from where they were later deported.
