Agencies
Valletta, Malta— Israel continues its genocide in Gaza using all means among which starving the Palestinians people in the enclave, and on early Friday, it attacked an aid ship heading to Gaza by Israeli armed drones which caught fire 25 kilometers off the coast of Malta.
“They hit the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull,” humanitarian activists said.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), that is campaigning to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza, told CNN when the attack happened activists were aboard its ship which was carrying humanitarian aid.
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said on X that she “received a distressed call from the people of the Freedom Flotilla that is carrying essential food and medicine to the starving Gaza population.”
“I call on concerned state authorities, including maritime authorities, to support the ship and its crew as needed. I trust the competent authorities will also ascertain the facts and intervene appropriately,” she said.
The ship, the Conscience, was heading to Malta, where a large contingent of activists were due to board before it departed for Gaza, more than 1,000 miles away, but had not made it into port, the group said.
“Volunteers from over 21 countries traveled to Malta to board the mission to Gaza, including prominent figures,” FFC said in a Statement on Friday.
Among the activists in Malta waiting to board the Gaza-bound vessel were renowned activist Greta Thunberg and retired US Army Colonel Mary Ann Wright, reported the Times of Malta.
Maltese authorities held emergency meetings focused on israel’s violation of its airspace an act that has been condemned by both public and official Maltese sources.
“What happened is very serious. Israel appears to have flown an unauthorized military aircraft over Malta, an EU state and in breach of our neutrality. This is very serious,” one Maltese military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said as cited by the Times of Malta.
Times of Malta said it “independently confirmed the movement of the Israeli aircraft C-130 Hercules and that it spent around three hours in Malta’s airspace before returning to Israel.”
“It showed the Israeli aircraft hovering above Malta for a while before making a series of maneuvers over Hurd’s Bank to the east of the island, at a relatively low altitude of around 5,000 feet. The plane returned to Israel about seven hours later,” it added.
Speaking to Reuters from Malta, Thunberg said she was part of the group that was supposed to board the boat and “continue the voyage towards Gaza, which is one of many attempts to open up a humanitarian corridor and to do our part to keep trying to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza.”
“For two months now, not a single bottle of water has entered Gaza, and it’s a systematic starvation of 2 million people,” Thunberg said.
The activist said that the ship is currently at anchor, as moving it risks water flooding in. “If it were to move, too much water would come in, and it would sink,” she said as cited by CNN.
“What is certain is that we human rights activists will continue to do everything in our power to do our part.”
Gaza has been under Israeli military siege since the October 7, 2023, Hamas deadly attacks on Israel. Israel imposed a full humanitarian blockade of Gaza on March 2, cutting off food, medical supplies, and other aid to the more than 2 million Palestinians who live in the territory.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said this week its warehouses are now empty; soup kitchens that are still running are severely rationing their last stocks; and what little food remains in Gaza’s markets is being sold for exorbitant prices that most cannot afford.
