An image from video shared on social media by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition campaign group on May 2, 2025, shows what it said was the aftermath of a drone attack on one of its vessels in international waters near Malta. Freedom Flotilla Coalition/X

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition campaign group said Friday that one of its ships bound for the Gaza Strip, carrying aid and dozens of activists, was attacked in international waters by drones in the middle of the night off Malta, causing serious damage to the vessel. The group, which has campaigned against Israel's blockade of the war-torn Palestinian territory and tried for years to reach it with boats carrying humanitarian aid, did not report any casualties, and Maltese officials said a fire on the vessel had been brought under control.

The Reuters news agency cited Malta's government as saying in a statement that the fire was out but the ship was still being monitored by relevant authorities.

The Freedom Flotilla said in an earlier social media post that the ship's hull had been breached and it was taking on water, prompting the crew to issue a distress call. There were about 30 activists on board the vessel, the organization said. Nighttime photos and video shared by the group showed what it said was a fire toward the front of a vessel.

The group did not immediately attribute the drone attack to any nation or group, and there were no claims of responsibility issued.

Israeli forces have previously boarded and seized Freedom Flotilla vessels to prevent them from breaching the Gaza blockade, including a raid on a boat in 2010 that left at least nine activists dead.

CBS News asked the Israel Defense Forces on Friday if it carried out any operation involving the Freedom Flotilla ship near Malta. There was no immediate response from the IDF.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, said in a social media post on Friday that she had "received a distressed call from the people of the Freedom Flotilla that is carrying essential food and medicine to the starving Gaza population. I call on concerned state authorities, including maritime authorities, to support the ship and its crew as needed. I trust the competent authorities will also ascertain the facts and intervene appropriately."

Aid organizations have condemned Israel's blockade, which, since the end of March, has been strictly enforced to prevent any goods entering the Palestinian territory, including humanitarian supplies that aid workers say are desperately needed in the enclave. Much of Gaza's infrastructure has been destroyed during the war sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, which has also killed more than 52,000 people according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory.

Hamas and allied groups killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel in the 2023 attack and took 251 others as hostages back into Gaza, according to Israeli officials, who've said as many as 24 of the captives could still be alive.

In its statement, reported by Reuters, Malta's government said all those aboard the Freedom Flotilla vessel had been "confirmed safe."

"The vessel had 12 crew members on board and four civilian passengers; no casualties were reported," the statement said, adding that a nearby tug had been directed to aid the vessel. "The tug arrived on scene and began firefighting operations. By 1:28 a.m. (2328 GMT Thursday), the fire was reported under control. An Armed Forces of Malta patrol vessel was also dispatched to provide further assistance."

"By 2:13 a.m., all crew were confirmed safe but refused to board the tug ... The ship remains outside territorial waters and is being monitored by the competent authorities."

It was not immediately clear why the activist group had reported nearly twice as many people being on the vessel as the Maltese authorities.

The Freedom Flotilla describes itself as a "solidarity movement composed of campaigns and initiatives from different parts of the world, working together to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza."

Among its goals with the defiant sailings to Gaza, the organization says it aims to "condemn and publicize the complicity of other governments and global actors in enabling the blockade," including, "most notably, the US government," which it says "has underwritten Israel's violence against Palestinians for decades."

Source