Israeli Drones Hit Gaza Freedom Flotilla Ship in International Water

Valletta (Quds News Network)- A Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists heading for Gaza was reportedly attacked by Israeli drones while in international waters off Malta early Friday.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international NGO, said, “At 00:23 Maltese time, the Conscience, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship came under direct attack in international waters.”

“Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull,” it added, blaming Israel.

BREAKING: At 00:23 Maltese time, a #FreedomFlotilla ship was subjected to a drone attack. The front of the vessel was targeted twice, resulting in a fire and a breach in the hull. The ship is currently located in international waters near #Malta. An #SOS distress signal was sent. pic.twitter.com/J6oEQafuOb

— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) May 2, 2025

The statement did not directly accuse Israel of carrying out the attack.

However, it did demand that “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”.

The group said activists from 21 countries were on board. They are on what it called a “mission to challenge Israel’s illegal and deadly siege of Gaza, and to deliver desperately needed, life-saving aid,” where aid groups warn people are struggling to survive following a two-month total blockade by Israel.

Everyone aboard the aid flotilla for Gaza that was hit by drones are “confirmed safe”, the Maltese government said in a statement on Friday.

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.

“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 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.

Gaza has been under Israeli military siege since October 7, 2023, when it started its genocidal war against Palestinians.

Since March 2, Israel has maintained the closure of Gaza’s main crossings, cutting off food, medical and humanitarian supplies, leading to an unprecedented deterioration of humanitarian conditions, according to reports by human rights organisations who have accused it of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinains.

Israel also resumed its genocide in Gaza on March 18 after violating the ceasefire aggresment signed in January, killing over 2,200 Palestinians and wounding more than 5,700—mostly children and women, according the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Humanitarian and human rights organizations have warned that the Palestinian enclave is on the brink of “full-scale famine conditions”.

“The coming days in Gaza are going to be critical. Today, people are not surviving in Gaza. Those that aren’t being killed with bombs and bullets are slowly dying,” Jonathan Whittall, head of OCHA in Gaza, said.