Israel Attacks the Global Sumud Flotilla

Featured image: Drone targets the Global Sumud Flotilla and causes a fire. Source: The Palestine Chronicle.

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) was attacked by drones in the Mediterranean. “Multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed and explosions heard from a number of boats,” the GSF said in a statement, without adding whether there were any casualties. The attacks took place between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The GSF condemned that “Israel escalates dangerous attacks”.

The flotilla’s organizing committee said on social media that 13 explosions and major disruptions to communication systems were detected on board. Chemical substances and stun grenades and other kind of explosives were dropped on at least 10 of the ships. A fire started after an explosion hit one of the ships.

Iara Modarelli, an activist inside the GSF stated that the drones were launched from a NATO base in Cyprus. Israel has not commented on the incident, but has in recent days stepped up its threats against the flotilla, accusing organizers of supporting Hamas and of pursuing “a violent course of action”. The Israeli Foreign Ministry threatened on the social media platform X: ‘Israel will take the necessary measures to prevent its entry into the combat zone and to stop any violation of a lawful naval blockade’.

These are not the first attacks faced by the Flotilla, as also drones attacked with projectiles on September 8 and 9. Israel already attacked all the previous Flotillas heading to Gaza. For weeks, the Israelis, which are now referring to the GSF as a ‘Hamas Flotilla’, has escalated its campaign to discredit and criminalize the GSF.