Tunisian authorities said on Monday they had found no evidence that a Gaza-bound vessel carrying aid and activists, including Greta Thunberg, was struck by a drone, contradicting claims from the flotilla’s organisers.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) said a Portuguese-flagged “Family boat” had been struck by a drone while anchored outside the port of Sidi Bou Said, causing a fire that damaged the main deck. The GSF said all six passengers and crew were safe and posted video showing crew alongside the vessel attempting to extinguish flames. A spokesperson for Tunisia’s national guard told Agence France-Presse that "no drone" had been detected and that an initial inspection suggested the explosion originated inside the vessel. The national guard said its investigation was ongoing.
UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who was aboard and is a Tunisian resident, said she was at Sidi Bou Said port on Monday and was "trying to figure out the facts with local authorities." She wrote on the social platform X that, if verified, an attack would amount to an "assault and aggression against Tunisia, and Tunisian sovereignty." Albanese has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and was subject to U.S. sanctions in July, a move welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona last week and arrived in Tunisia on Sunday, says its mission is to "break Israel's illegal siege on Gaza." Organisers have faced repeated setbacks: Israeli forces boarded a different boat carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza in June, detaining 12 activists, including Thunberg, and escorting them to the port of Ashdod before deporting them. Israeli authorities have described such voyages as publicity stunts and said they provide little real humanitarian assistance.
There have been prior allegations of drone strikes on aid vessels bound for Gaza. In May, the Freedom Flotilla accused its ship The Conscience of being struck by a drone off the coast of Malta. The BBC said it was sent a recording of a distress call from the flotilla ship, made by a crew member on a nearby oil tanker, in which the captain reported drone strikes and a fire onboard. The Maltese government said everyone aboard that ship was "confirmed safe" and that the fire had been "brought under control overnight."
The incident comes amid heightened international concern over humanitarian conditions in Gaza. A United Nations-backed body and senior UN officials have said parts of Gaza are experiencing famine and that obstacles to aid access are a major driver of civilian suffering. Israel has rejected some of those findings and says it has imposed restrictions on supplies since March to prevent weapons and material reaching Hamas following the 7 October 2023 attacks by militants from Gaza. Israeli forces subsequently launched a large-scale military campaign in Gaza; Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reports tens of thousands of deaths from Israeli attacks.
Tunisian authorities have not publicly released a detailed forensic assessment. The national guard’s statement that there was no detection of a drone and that an internal explosion is suspected leaves open questions for investigators and for the flotilla’s organisers. GSF spokespeople posted videos and statements to social media describing an "incendiary device" causing the blaze.
International responses to the GSF claim were limited on Monday as governments and humanitarian agencies awaited the results of the Tunisian inquiry. The episode highlights ongoing tensions over efforts to deliver aid to Gaza by sea and the contested security, legal and political claims that surround such voyages. Investigations by Tunisian authorities and further on-the-record information from the flotilla’s organisers will be central to determining what occurred while the vessel was at anchor off Sidi Bou Said.