Greta Thunberg

Sept. 9 (UPI) — A boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla heading to Gaza was struck by a drone, the nonviolence coalition said Tuesday.

The Portuguese-flagged Family Boat was at a port in Tunis, Tunisia, when it was struck at about 2 a.m. local time Tuesday, it said on X, stating the flotilla had been “attacked.”

“While all participants are safe, details about the attack remain limited,” it said in an official statement that followed.

Global Sumud Flotilla posted uncorroborated video of the incident shot by a nearby boat to X, showing a streaking flame hitting the deck of Family Boat.

Crew member Miguel Duarte said he saw the drone “clearly” about 13 feet above him.

“It stopped close to us and then moved slowly to the forward part of the ship and dropped what was obviously a bomb,” he said in a video published to the flotilla’s X account.

“There was a huge explosion, lots of fire, big, big flames.”

The purported bomb landed on a pile of life jackets, he said, which caught fire and had to be extinguished.

“Let me be clear: 100% it was a drone dropping a bomb on the forward deck of our ship,” he said.

The flotilla arrived in Tunis on Sunday after departing Spain a week earlier with climate justice Advocate Greta Thunberg aboard.

The Global Sumud Flotilla said it consists of about 50 boats loaded with food and aid and hundreds of activists from more than 45 countries.

Its mission is to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

“Acts of aggression aimed at intimidating and derailing our mission will not deter us,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement. “Our peaceful mission to break the siege of Gaza and stand in solidarity with its people continues with determination and resolve.”

Israel has enforced a land, sea and air blockade of Gaza since Hamas‘ takeover of the enclave in 2007. The blockade has further been tightened since the Iran-backed militia’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began to allow aid into the country in May following a three-month prohibition, but international organizations say it is not enough.

The United Nations has accused Israel of creating a manmade famine in Gaza — accusations that Israel has rejected.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, as well as former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on allegations of using starvation as a method of warfare.

According to the Palestine Ministry of Health, 387 Palestinians, including 139 children, have died of starvation in Gaza.

At least 64,455 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s war against Hamas, the ministry said.

Sept. 2 (UPI) — A flotilla of boats loaded with medical supplies and food and carrying climate justice advocate Greta Thunberg has departed Spain for Gaza with aims to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

The convoy left Barcelona Monday, according to a statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla posted to its Instagram account.

“We are united in our mission to break the siege, deliver aid and open a people’s humanitarian corridor,” it said.

“When the world stays silent, we set sail.”

The mission departed following a one-day delay due to strong winds. A sea trial had been conducted Sunday, but faced with 30-knot winds, the flotilla postponed the launch to protect its smaller boats.

According to Global Sumud Flotilla, its mission is to “break Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza” and demonstrate that its blockade of the Palestinian enclave is “collective punishment of a civilian population.”

The flotilla is expected to consist of 50 boats, with a second launch scheduled for Thursday from Tunis, Tunisia.

“Each departure will see dozens of boats carrying medical supplies, nutritional aid, and solidarity crews, converging in the Mediterranean before attempting to reach Gaza,” Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement earlier this month.

The flotilla said hundreds of activists from more than 45 countries, including Thunberg, were a part of the first launch.

In a recorded statement published online ahead of the launch, Thunberg said that, along with delivering humanitarian aid, they are bringing a message of hope to Palestinians, showing that the world has not forgotten about them.

“We have to be very clear that Palestinians do not need anyone to come to their rescue. We don’t just need aid and food to be delivered to Gaza, we need an end to the occupation, we need an end to the apartheid system and we need an end to the genocide,” she said.

“And we need justice and freedom for everyone, from the river to the sea.”

Israel has enforced a land, sea and air blockade of Gaza since Hamas’ takeover of the enclave in 2007. The blockade has further been tightened since the Iran-backed militia’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began to allow aid into the country in May following a three-month prohibition, but international organizations say it is not enough.

On Friday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Gaza was “on a descent into a massive famine.”

“They all need food,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters. “The entire Gaza Strip needs food. There would not have been a declared famine had there been sufficient amounts of food.”

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, nearly 350 Palestinians, including 127 children, have died of starvation, a situation widely attributed to Israel.

UNWAR Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement Aug. 22 that “This is starvation by design and manmade by the government of Israel.”

Israel has denied the allegation.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, as well as former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on allegations of using starvation as a method of warfare.

June 9 (UPI) — The Israeli government announced Monday that the boat crew of civilians that included Swedish activist Greta Thunberg it intercepted attempting to transport humanitarian supplies to Gaza will be returned to their home countries upon arrival in Israel.

The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or MFA, reported across its social media platform that the vessel, identified as the “Madleen” by the nonprofit Freedom Flotilla Coalition organization, or FFC, that launched it, is being brought to an Israel port.

The MFA refers to the craft as a “selfie yacht,” and has confirmed that Thunberg is aboard, in addition to other “celebrities,” but did not name them. The FFC listed all their names last week after the announcement that the boat was already on its way “with life-saving aid, to break Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza and establish a people’s sea corridor.”

The MFA also stated that the passengers aboard the Madleen have been supplied with sandwiches and water, and that the “tiny amount of aid that wasn’t consumed by the ‘celebrities’ will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels.”

It also posted a photo of Thunberg Monday, apparently about to receive food and bottled water from someone dressed in military apparel. “Greta Thunberg is currently on her way to Israel, safe and in good spirits,” the image was captioned.

Another person who was aboard the Madleen European Parliament member Rima Hassan of France, who posted to X late Monday morning that “the crew of the Freedom Flotilla has been unlawfully detained by Israel for more than 14 hours” since Israel commandeered the vessel.

Thunberg had released a video via her social media pages late Sunday that alleged “If you see this video, it means we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel.”

German citizen Yasemin Acar, also aboard the Madleen, posted a video of herself Sunday night to Instagram in an unspecified situation, but was wearing a life jacket and apparently had at least one arm raised behind her head as sirens wailed in the background and an amplified voice that seemingly said “Don’t be afraid” and “Stay where you are” in English could also be heard.”

The FFC posted a separate message to Instagram Sunday which purported that “drones dropped unidentified chemicals on the Madleen. Immediately after, our peaceful volunteers were rammed and intercepted before Israeli forces boarded the vessel. We lost all contact with them seconds later.” An updated post from the FFC Monday called out what it has described as an “illegal attack” by Israel on the Madleen.

It has been widely reported that the Madleen has been brought to Israel’s Port of Ashdod, and that Sweden’s foreign ministry has confirmed it is in touch with Israel over Thunberg, and will stand by should the need for consular assistance be required.

June 1 (UPI) — A ship filled with aid bound for Gaza set sail Sunday, hoping to break Israel’s blockade on the Palestinian enclave a month after another of its ships was damaged in an alleged Israeli drone strike in Maltese waters.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition launched a ship called the Madleen from Catania in southern Italy with activists onboard.

Ahead of the launch, those expected to join included Greta Thunberg; celebrity artists Brian Eno and Nan Goldin; actors Susan Sarandon, Guy Pearce, Aiysha Hart, Liam Cunningham, and Indya Moore; and Alana Hadid, the daughter of Palestinian-Jordanian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, among others.

The ship is carrying “as much life-saving aid as she can carry,” including baby formula and medical supplies. Its organizers have stressed that the ship is not carrying any weapons.

Organizers have installed a tracking device on the ship so that the public can view its progress, noting that “the risk is real.” They hope that the tracker can help increase its safety, accountability and solidarity with their mission.

A similar flotilla was raided by the IDF in May 2010, leading to the close-range shooting deaths of at least nine passengers in international waters.

“Unarmed and nonviolent, ‘Madleen’ poses no threat. She sails in full accordance with international law,” the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a statement on Telegram. “Any attack or interference will be a deliberate, unlawful assault on civilians.”

Last month, another ship called the Conscience put out an SOS distress signal when it was 16 miles off the coast of Malta.

“The front of the vessel was targeted twice, resulting in a fire and a breach in the hull,” the group said at the time. “We have sent an SOS distress signal out, but no one has responded. Water is coming into the ship.”