A drone strike allegedly caused a fire on one of the lead ships of the Global Sumud Flotilla while docked at a Tunisian port on Tuesday, though local authorities insist that the fire was caused by an accident.
Video of the Sid Bou Said incident was shared by the Sumud Flotilla on social media, showing activists panicking after flames rose from the vessel Family’s main deck and deck storage. All crew and passengers, including the flotilla’s steering committee members, were unharmed.
“Acts of aggression aimed at intimidating and derailing our mission will not deter us,” organizers said in a statement. “Our peaceful mission to break the siege on Gaza and stand in solidarity with its people continued with determination and resolve.”
Tunisia says flotilla has 'no basis in truth'
The flotilla said that an investigation into the incident was underway, but Tunisian Interior Ministry rejected information circulated about the incident as having “no basis in truth.”
The ministry said on Facebook that it appeared that a life jacket had caught on fire, which then spread to other emergency flotation devices. According to De Telegraaf, local authorities said the fire was caused by a cigarette butt.
As the flotilla of dozens of vessels has traveled to run the blockade around Gaza, it has made claims about being stalked by drones.
Ninety nautical miles from the island of Menorca, Sumud committee organizer Yasemin Acar claimed that each vessel in the flotilla was surveilled by a drone hovering above it.
In a June blockade run by a previous Gaza flotilla, climate activist Greta Thunberg panicked when her ship, the Madleen, was approached by Greek Coast Guard drones. In May, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition claimed that one of their vessels was attacked by a drone off the shores of Malta.
The flotilla, which set out from Barcelona last Sunday, has been plagued with technical and environmental difficulties that have delayed the journey. Last Tuesday, five of their smaller ships had to turn back to port amid turbulent weather. The storm allegedly also knocked out communications between the vessels.
The flotilla was supposed to rendezvous with other vessels from Tunis, Greece, and Italy on September 4 but has yet to meet its schedule.
The Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.