Activists aboard a flotilla including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg said they remained determined to proceed to Gaza on Tuesday after reporting that one of their vessels had been struck by a suspected drone off the coast of Tunisia.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) said late Monday that its "Family Boat," carrying members of the flotilla's steering committee, was hit by what organisers described as a suspected unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The group said the vessel was sailing under a Portuguese flag and that all passengers and crew were safe, and that any damage was minor.
Tunisian authorities dismissed the drone claim as unfounded. Tunisia's interior ministry and the national guard said there had been no detection of drones and suggested the blaze may have been caused by a cigarette or a fire among life jackets. National guard spokesman Houcem Eddine Jebabli told AFP that "no drones have been detected" and described preliminary findings as pointing to an accidental fire.
Organisers and some activists on board contested that account. The GSF and several participants posted video footage and social media statements showing a burning object falling onto the deck from a distance and the vessel catching fire. Activist Yasemin Acar said in an online statement that a drone flew above the boat and released an explosive, adding that everyone on board was unharmed and the fire had been extinguished.
The United Nations' special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, who was at the Tunis port of Sidi Bou Said, said she did not know who carried out the incident but told Reuters she would not be surprised if Israel were responsible. "If confirmed, it is an attack against Tunisian sovereignty," she said.
No state has publicly claimed responsibility for the reported incident. Israel has previously warned it would prevent attempts to breach the naval blockade of Gaza and described some activists as potential security threats. Israeli authorities have not issued an immediate response to the latest allegation.
The flotilla, which organisers say comprises about 20 boats and delegations from 44 countries and around 350 activists and aid workers, arrived in Tunisia at the weekend after staging departures from ports in Spain and Italy. Organisers say the mission is a peaceful attempt to deliver food, water and medicine to the Gaza Strip and to press for a humanitarian sea corridor to the territory.
The convoy first attempted to leave on Sunday but returned to port because of stormy weather. A number of drones were reported flying over the group a week earlier, and activists have said they were monitoring those aircraft closely as the flotilla moved through the western Mediterranean.
The incident recalls a June episode in which Thunberg and other activists were detained after Israeli forces intercepted a separate vessel bound for Gaza; Thunberg was then deported. Activists have also alleged that drones deployed by Israeli forces sprayed irritant substances onto previous flotilla vessels, an allegation Israel has disputed.
Organisers said Tuesday that the flotilla planned to depart from the Tunisian capital as scheduled on Wednesday and that acts of aggression would not deter the mission. Tunisian organiser Ghassen Henchiri told a crowd in Tunis that "our will is stronger and we are more determined (than ever) to break the blockade against Gaza." Nadir al-Nuri, a member of the flotilla's steering committee, told AFP the convoy remained on course.
The flotilla's effort comes amid dire humanitarian warnings about conditions in Gaza. Aid agencies and food experts have reported severe shortages of food, water and medical supplies, and estimates from relief groups and U.N. agencies have warned that large numbers of people in the territory face acute hunger and that northern Gaza has seen sharply limited deliveries of basic supplies during the current conflict.
An AFP journalist who visited the vessel after the reported incident said the fire had been quickly extinguished and that the ship had only minor damage. The GSF said an investigation into the episode was under way and that it would release more information when available.
The situation highlights competing narratives between the flotilla's organisers and Tunisian security agencies over what occurred in Tunisian waters, as well as broader tensions over attempts by civilian ships to reach Gaza while Israeli officials maintain a naval blockade. International agencies and governments monitoring the region have not offered independent confirmation of the cause of the blaze as of Tuesday evening.