Officials Deny Boat In Gaza Flotilla Was Struck By Drone In Tunisian Waters

Tunisia on Tuesday denied accusations that a vessel successful a Gaza-bound flotilla was deed by a drone disconnected its coast, saying nan detonation came from wrong nan vessel.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, an independent assistance group, said Monday that 1 of its main boats heading to nan Gaza Strip had been struck by a drone successful Tunisian waters.

The detonation caused occurrence harm to nan Portuguese-flagged boat’s main platform and below-deck storage, but each six passengers and unit are safe, GSF said successful a statement.

“Acts of aggression aimed astatine intimidating and derailing our ngo will not deter us,” nan group said. “Our serene ngo to break nan siege connected Gaza and guidelines successful solidarity pinch its group continues pinch determination and resolution.”

An investigation is presently underway, according to GSF. With astir 20 boats and participants from 44 countries including activistic Greta Thunberg, nan group is nan largest civilian maritime effort to break nan Israeli blockade of nan Palestinian territory.

Tunisian officials rejected nan allegation, saying nan detonation occurred wrong nan vessel, Reuters reported. A National Guard spokesperson told section media that claims of a drone onslaught connected nan flotilla “have nary ground successful truth.”

Miguel Duarte, a unit member, said nan suspected drone stopped adjacent to nan flotilla, moved slow to nan front, and past dropped “what was evidently a bomb” connected nan guardant portion of nan deck.

“Let maine beryllium clear 100%. It was a drone dropping a explosive connected nan guardant platform of our ship,” Duarte said erstwhile asked whether nan squad was “absolutely definite that this was a drone attack,” a video he posted on Instagram shows.

“I’m OK, but we could person been killed, right?” Duarte said, citing nan deaths during nan Israel-Hamas warfare of humanitarian and aesculapian workers.

“We cognize nan dangers that we’re facing,” he said.

After nan explosion, unit members many times yelled for thief and sounded nan occurrence alarm, according to a CCTV video shared by Francesca Albanese, nan U.N. typical rapporteur for nan West Bank and Gaza.

“If it’s confirmed that this is simply a drone attack, it will beryllium an battle and aggression against Tunisia and against Tunisian sovereignty,” Albanese said aft nan incident. “And again, we cannot support connected tolerating this and normalizing nan illegal.”

Demonstrators gathered astatine nan larboard of Tunis astir 2 a.m. section clip (10 p.m. Monday ET), pinch immoderate waving Palestinian and Turkish flags and chanting “Free Palestine,” according to a video reposted by GSF.

Starvation deaths successful Gaza surged aft Israel’s blockade successful March, and assistance was resumed successful May under a system backed by nan U.S. and Israel. Since then, nearly 1,400 group person died and 4,000 much person been injured while seeking food, pinch astatine slightest 859 killed adjacent assistance sites, nan United Nations says.