A flotilla carrying aid for Gaza and pro-Palestinian activists has published a video showing one of its boats being struck by a flaming object at Sidi Bou Said port in Tunisia.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) said the boat had been hit by a drone and that it sustained fire damage to its main deck and below-deck storage, though all six passengers and crew were safe.
Tunisia’s interior ministry said reports of a drone hitting a boat in the port “have no basis in truth”, and that a fire broke out on the vessel itself.
The GSF video showed an object landing on a vessel, with smoke rising soon after. Dozens of people gathered at the port after the strike, waving Palestinian flags and chanting: “Free Palestine.”
The GSF said an investigation was under way and its results would be released once available.
The flotilla is an international initiative seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to war-torn Gaza using civilian boats supported by delegations from 44 countries. Those on board include the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and the Portuguese leftwing politician Mariana Mortágua.
Israel has imposed a naval blockade on the coastal territory since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, saying it aims to stop weapons from reaching the militant group. The blockade has remained in place throughout the current war, which began when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies showed. Israel’s subsequent military assault against Hamas has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry said, while a global hunger monitor said part of the territory is suffering from famine. Israel sealed off Gaza by land in early March, letting in no supplies for three months and sparking the widespread shortage of food. It has said Hamas was diverting the aid.
In June, Israeli naval forces boarded and seized a British-flagged yacht carrying Thunberg, among others. Israel dismissed the aid ship as a propaganda stunt in support of Hamas.
In May, the Conscience, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship, was hit by drones and disabled while in international waters off Malta as it headed towards the Palestinian territory.
“Acts of aggression aimed at intimidating and derailing our mission will not deter us. Our peaceful mission to break the siege on Gaza and stand in solidarity with its people continues with determination and resolve,” the GSF said.
The United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, who was at the port, told Reuters: “We do not know who carried out the attack, but we would not be surprised if it was Israel. If confirmed, it is an attack against Tunisian sovereignty.”
There was no immediate comment from the Israel.
Reuters contributed to this report