Aid ship bound for Gaza catches fire after alleged Israeli drone attack off Malta

By Kathleen Magramo, Abeer Salman, Todd Symons and Martin Goillandeau, CNN

(CNN) — A Gaza-bound activist aid ship caught fire and issued an SOS, after what its organizers claimed was an Israeli drone attack off the coast of Malta in international waters in the early hours of Friday.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which is campaigning to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza, told CNN activists were aboard its ship carrying humanitarian aid when the alleged attack happened just after midnight local time (6 p.m. ET Thursday).

The group is yet to provide evidence that the drone was Israeli, while the Israeli military has declined to comment on the alleged attack.

“There is a hole in the vessel right now and the ship is sinking,” Yasemin Acar, the coalition’s press officer, told CNN by phone from Malta on Friday morning.

Malta’s government said the ship was carrying 16 people – 12 crew members and four civilian passengers. But FFC earlier gave CNN a higher figure of 30 people on board the vessel.

The Armed Forces of Malta confirmed there was a fire on a ship that was later extinguished. “We are monitoring the situation closely,” a spokesperson told CNN, adding that there were no injuries onboard.

In a later statement, Malta’s government said a tug boat had been sent to assist the vessel.

“All crew were confirmed safe but refused to board the tug. Assistance was provided to support interior firefighting efforts,” the Maltese government statement 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.

FFC told CNN that climate activist Greta Thunberg and retired US Army Colonel Mary Ann Wright were among those who were expected the board vessel in Malta, but were not onboard at the time of the fire.

“Volunteers from over 21 countries traveled to Malta to board the mission to Gaza, including prominent figures,” FFC said in a Statement on Friday

‘Craziest thing in the world’

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,” adding that “for two months now, not a single bottle of water has entered Gaza, and it’s a systematic starvation of 2 million people.”

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.

“What is certain is that we human rights activists will continue to do everything in our power to do our part.”

Speaking to CNN from Malta, Wright said activists “were ready to get on the boat. Anyone could have been on the boat,” adding that there are currently Turkish and Azerbaijan citizens on the ship.

“We didn’t even think that this would happen. It’s the craziest thing in the world. The ship was in an anchor there, waiting for us to come. Who would send drones to bomb a ship that is anchoring off Malta?” Wright said, adding that “this should be a warning to all European countries.”

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition describes itself on its website as an international network of pro-Palestinian activists working to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave by taking direct, non-violent action.

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.

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.

Loud explosions

FFC said it had been operating under a media blackout over the mission because it wanted to avoid potential sabotage.

“Our vessel is 17 kilometers off the shores of Malta right now in international waters, and they have been subjected to a drone attack twice,” said Acar, adding that the generators at the front of the vessel were the apparent target.

The group pointed the finger of blame at Israel, without providing evidence. “Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters,” FFC said in its statement.

An Israeli Air Force C-130 Hercules was picked up leaving Israel early Thursday afternoon and flying to Malta, according to flight-tracking website ADS-B Exchange. The Hercules did not land at Malta’s international airport, the data shows, but the cargo aircraft did fly at a relatively low altitude – below 5,000 feet – over eastern Malta for an extended period of time. The Hercules flew over several hours before the Freedom Flotilla Coalition says their vessel came under attack. The plane returned to Israel about seven hours later, flight-tracking data shows.

The Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the flight-tracking data.

In 2010, Israel attacked a flotilla in international waters and carrying humanitarian supplies for Gaza, killing at least nine people and sparking outrage around the world.

Video the coalition posted on its X account appeared to show a fire burning on a ship, as well as smoke. The sound of two loud explosions can also be heard in a separate video clip. CNN is unable to independently verify the videos.

Marine traffic websites show the Conscience departed Tunisia on Tuesday. Tracking data showed it had been in its position off the coast of Malta for around 12 hours before the alleged attack occurred on Friday morning. The Conscience is listed as flying under a Palau flag.

FFC’s lead organizer, Thiago Avila, told CNN the organization was now trying to arrange a small boat to accompany a rescue crew to the location of the Conscience.

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CNN’s Kareem Khadder, Nadeen Ebrahim, Ibrahim Dahman and Oren Liebermann contributed reporting