An international flotilla preparing to deliver aid to Gaza was rocked late Monday by an explosion on one of its main ships while anchored at the Port of Sidi Bou Said in Tunis, Tunisia. The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which includes more than 50 boats from 44 countries, said the “Family Boat” was hit by a drone, while Tunisian authorities dismissed the claim as unfounded.
The incident occurred at 11:45 p.m. as the Family Boat, sailing under a Portuguese flag, sat in harbor carrying six members of the flotilla’s steering committee. Among its passengers were Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, human rights campaigner Yasemin Acar, and Brazilian organizer Thiago Ávila. The GSF reported that no one was injured, though the explosion caused damage to the ship’s main deck and below-deck storage.
Footage released by the group showed an object dropping onto the vessel before flames erupted. Political commentator Brian Allen posted another video taken aboard the Family Boat, while onboard security cameras captured crew members looking up seconds before an explosion.
Miguel Duarte, who was on the Family Boat, described what he saw in a video posted by Middle East Eye. “I was standing in the back part of the ship, the aft deck, and I heard a drone,” he said. “I saw a drone clearly about 4 meters [13 feet] above my head. I called someone. We were looking at the drone, just above our heads, really.”
“The drone stopped close to the two crew members, then moved slowly to the forward deck of the ship, and dropped what was ‘obviously a bomb’,” Duarte added. “There was a huge explosion, lots of fire, big, big flames … We could have been killed.”
In a statement following the blast, the GSF said, “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 flotilla’s spokesperson, Saif Abukeshek, directly blamed Israel. “There is no other authority that would do such an attack, such a crime, except the Israeli authorities,” he said in a video posted on the GSF’s Instagram page. “They have been committing genocide for the past 22 months, and they are willing to attack a peaceful, non-violent flotilla.”
But Tunisia’s National Guard rejected the claim. In a statement posted to Facebook, it called reports of a drone attack “completely unfounded.” Officials said the fire began when a cigarette butt or lighter ignited a life jacket, adding: “There was no evidence of any hostile act or external targeting.”
United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who is traveling with the flotilla, cautioned that the reports must be verified but pointed to Israel’s “history” of attacking Gaza-bound aid ships. “If it’s confirmed that this is a drone attack, it will be an assault and aggression against Tunisia and against Tunisian sovereignty,” she said. “Again, we cannot keep on tolerating this and normalizing the illegal.”
The GSF said it would continue its mission after ensuring ships and crews were safe. “We will continue our preparation as soon as we make sure the ships are safe and the crew and the participants are safe,” Abukeshek said. “We will continue to break the siege on Gaza.”
The latest mission is the largest maritime effort to reach Gaza since Israel imposed a near-total blockade on humanitarian aid after October 2023. Since then, Israeli strikes and ground operations have killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, while conditions have pushed the territory toward famine. Nearly 400 people, including at least 140 children, have died of starvation, and more than 1,000 have been killed while attempting to access food at aid hubs. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reported in July that one in three Gazans was going days without food.
Israel has blocked several aid boats in recent months, including the Madleen and Handala, detaining participants. In May, the Conscience, a ship operated by the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, was reportedly bombed off Malta, forcing organizers to abandon their voyage. Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has threatened to classify aid flotilla organizers as “terrorists” and detain them.
Efforts to deliver aid to Gaza by sea stretch back more than a decade. In 2008, two boats from the Free Gaza Movement reached the enclave in the first breach of Israel’s naval blockade. But since 2010, Israeli forces have intercepted or attacked every flotilla, including the deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara that killed 10 activists and wounded dozens.
The Global Sumud Flotilla departed Spanish ports on August 31 and arrived in Tunisia last week. Its organizers had planned to set sail from Tunis on Wednesday. Delegates include Mandela family member Mandla Mandela and French actress Adele Haenel alongside Thunberg.
For those on the mission, the risks are not enough to deter them. As Abukeshek said following the explosion, “We will continue to break the siege on Gaza.”
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