Gaza aid flotilla hit by drone attacks and explosions, activists say

Activists connected committee the Global Sumud Flotilla said they heard explosions and saw drone attacks precocious connected Tuesday

Organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a Gaza-bound flotilla with pro-Palestinian activists connected committee carrying aid, reported proceeding explosions and seeing aggregate drone attacks from their boats situated disconnected Greece from precocious Tuesday to the aboriginal hours of Wednesday.

“Multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed and explosions heard from a fig of boats,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said successful a statement, without adding whether determination were immoderate casualties.

“We are witnessing these intelligence operations firsthand, close now, but we volition not beryllium intimidated.”

Suited successful a beingness jacket, Brazilian organiser Tiago Avila updated connected his Instagram astatine midnight connected Wednesday that a full of 10 attacks targeted aggregate boats with dependable bombs and explosive flares. They were besides sprayed with suspected chemicals.

US activistic Greg Stoker said his vessel disconnected the seashore of Crete was besides a target.

“Our vessel was assailed by a quadcopter that dropped a small popper connected deck. A mates of different boats experienced that arsenic well. Our VHF [very precocious frequency] vigor was hijacked by adversarial comms, and they started playing Abba,” helium said connected Instagram.

Israeli authorities person not publically commented connected the reports of drones, explosions oregon communications interference being utilized against the flotilla.

Earlier connected Tuesday, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed successful a station connected X that the sailing boats were “pursuing a convulsive people of action”, which “highlights the insincerity of the flotilla members and their ngo to service Hamas, alternatively than the radical successful Gaza”.

The ministry asked that the flotilla manus the assistance connected committee the boats implicit to Israel truthful it tin beryllium transferred to Gaza “in a coordinated and peaceful manner” via the adjacent Ashkelon Marina, which the flotilla organisers rejected.

“If the flotilla continues to cull Israel’s peaceful proposal, Israel volition instrumentality the indispensable measures to forestall its introduction into the combat portion and to halt immoderate usurpation of a lawful naval blockade, portion making each imaginable effort to guarantee the information of its passengers,” the Israeli connection read.

Avila called this “manipulation from the Zionist regime”.

“We tin ne'er judge an occupying unit who is committing genocide that they volition present assistance – it’s not successful their interests,” helium said connected his Instagram.

The flotilla, numbering 51 boats, acceptable sail from the occidental portion of the Mediterranean Sea earlier this period with the purpose of breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza and delivering assistance to the territory. It had already been targeted successful 2 suspected drone attacks successful Tunisia, wherever its vessel had been anchored, earlier resuming its voyage towards Gaza.

Environmental activistic Greta Thunberg is among the high-profile participants.

International activists, including assistance workers and campaigners, accidental they organised the flotilla arsenic a peaceful enactment to gully planetary attraction to Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.

Israel blocked 2 earlier attempts by activists to scope Gaza by oversea successful June and July.