WANA (Sep 09) – The global “Al-Sumoud” fleet announced that one of the main ships of this convoy, named Family, which had departed from Tunisia and carried a number of members of the steering committee, including Thiago Silva, Greta Thunberg, and Yasmin Akar, was targeted by a drone attack in Tunisian waters.

 

As a result of this attack, the main deck and the hold of the ship caught fire. The organizers called this action “a hostile attack to create intimidation,” but emphasized that all passengers are in full health.

 

Mission of the Convoy: Help the People of Gaza

This maritime convoy has moved with the aim of breaking the siege of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid. Officials of the convoy say about two million people of Gaza are in conditions of famine and “deliberate ethnic cleansing” by Israel.

 

The spokesperson of the convoy stated, “This attack will not prevent our continuation of the path. We are committed to delivering the aid into the hands of the people of Gaza.”

 

Contradictory Narratives

While the Al-Sumoud convoy has spoken of a “drone attack,” the Tunisian National Guard described the cause of the incident as an internal fire and denied the occurrence of any external attack.

 

Press Conference in Tunisia

On Tuesday afternoon, members of the convoy gathered in front of the central theater hall of the city of Tunis. In this press conference, which was held with the presence of figures such as the grandson of Nelson Mandela and well-known international activists, the recent attack was condemned, and emphasis was placed on the continuation of the movement of the ships toward Gaza.

 

Narratives of the Passengers of the Ship

One of the passengers of the ship, Family, described the details of the incident as follows: “Last night I went to the deck and noticed the flight of a drone at a distance of three or four meters above our heads. I informed the other members of the matter. Then the drone went to the front of the ship and stopped for a few minutes over a part of the life jackets. Suddenly, a big flame was created, and the ship caught fire. We quickly picked up the fire extinguishers and were able to control the fire.”

 

Another passenger also said: “What happened last night showed with what kind of criminals we are faced. Those who do not want even one shipment of humanitarian aid to reach the hungry children in Gaza. The same ones who assassinate health workers, the United Nations, civil defense, and journalists, and commit war crimes. We keep repeating this because the reason for our mission is clear: the necessity of helping Gaza not only still exists, but with the intensification of attacks, the need for it has become even greater. The dangers that we endure compared with the daily suffering of the people of Gaza are nothing.”

 

Another member of the convoy also stated, “We are ready for any kind of suppression and pursuit because we are inspired by the resistance of the Palestinian people. They have lived for more than 22 months under uninterrupted bombardment and genocide, but still continue to live. We also will continue on our path until the last moment.”

 

Continuation of the Path

At the end of the press conference, the members of the convoy once again announced that threats and attacks cannot prevent the continuation of the path of the ships. According to them, the ships of the Al-Sumoud convoy will continue the movement toward Gaza in order to be “the voice of resistance and global solidarity with the people of Palestine.”

Footage of the Israeli regime’s drone attack on one of the ships of the Samoud convoy. Social media/ WANA News Agency