The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) said the Portuguese-flagged “Family Boat,” carrying aid and activists including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, was hit at the port of Sidi Bou Said shortly before departure to Gaza. Videos posted on GSF social media appeared to show a luminous object descending onto the vessel, the group said.
Tunisian authorities rejected the claim, telling press agencies the incident was a fire that started on the boat itself. All passengers and crew were reported safe.
According to GSF, the flaming projectile ignited lifejackets on deck around midnight as a crew member was livestreaming. After the strike, crew were heard calling for help as smoke rose from the impact point, the group said.
“I was on deck on the back part of the ship, and I heard a drone,” a crew member told a Tuesday morning news conference, adding that he and others saw a drone hover about 3 to 4 meters overhead, then move forward and drop a bomb that set the deck ablaze.
“Fire damage was caused to the main deck and below deck storage,” GSF said in a statement, adding: “Acts of aggression aimed at intimidating and derailing our mission will not deter us […] our peaceful mission to break the siege on Gaza and stand in solidarity with its people continues with determination and resolve.”
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who was at the port, said in a recorded video that if confirmed as a drone attack, it “would be an assault, an aggression, against Tunisia and Tunisian sovereignty.” She added that verification was needed, citing “a history of attacks on the flotilla” and current threats against it.
Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila told reporters that for 17 years there had been attempts to break what he called an illegal blockade, saying 37 boats had been intercepted or attacked.
“This is boat number 38 that suffered from an attack,” he said. “They have drones, they have the violence, they have the weapons, but we have everything else. We have history on our side.”
Organizers said the convoy—about 50 boats with activists from 44 countries—was in final preparations to sail to Gaza. Dozens of vessels left Barcelona last week and were joined by another group from Genoa, arriving in Tunisian waters on Sunday and planning to depart on Wednesday after earlier delays.
In July, the unarmed Freedom flotilla was boarded by Israeli forces in international waters while en route with supplies to Gaza, the organizers said.
(jh)
Source: BBC, Euronews, The Guardian