The ship from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is said to have been attacked twice, the first time just after midnight just outside Malta in the central Mediterranean. On video clips from the organization that TT has taken part of, you can see how something hits the boat's front section. A loud bang is heard, followed by a fire breaking out.
"Armed drones attacked the bow of an unarmed civilian ship twice, causing a fire and a significant hole in the hull," the movement writes in a press release.
According to spokesperson Yasemin Acar, international human rights activists from several different countries are on the ship.
There are no dead or injured, she says to TT.
"Challenge the siege"
The ship Conscience is located near Malta in international waters. According to Freedom Flotilla, nearby countries delayed responding to the ship's distress call for several hours. This is denied by Malta, which according to The Maltese Herald sent out assistance shortly after the call.
The journey aimed to deliver emergency assistance and to "challenge Israel's deadly siege of Gaza", Freedom Flotilla Coalition states. The UN has previously demanded free passage for the ship to the Gaza Strip.
Swedish Greta Thunberg is in Malta and was supposed to board the ship in the morning. So it won't be.
This is a war crime and further evidence that international law and human rights lack respect from the international community, she says to Expressen.
"Like a pirate"
In a press release, Freedom Flotilla points out Israel as responsible for the night's attack. Israel has not commented on the incident, but has previously attacked similar ships on their way to Gaza.
In 2010, the Israeli navy boarded a Gaza convoy in international waters and killed nine passengers and injured 30, one of whom later died of their injuries.
"The Israeli government is behaving like a pirate in the region and breaks international law with impunity", writes politician Mustafa Barghouti on X and continues:
(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is acting like an imperial ruler over the entire Middle East, and all countries in the region will have to pay the price if he is not confronted and deterred."
