A drone reportedly targeted and struck the lead boat of a flotilla led by activist Greta Thunberg while on a mission to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, according to organizers.
The strike occurred on the “Family Boat,” flying under a Portuguese flag in Tunisian waters while carrying members of the flotilla’s Steering Committee, Global Sumud Flotilla posted in a statement on Monday.
The committee included Thunberg and other activists and was inside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said when the drone hit, the Israel Times reported.
The main deck and below-deck storage were set ablaze and sustained damage, the group said.
All six passengers and crew members are safe, authorities added.
Footage posted by the group showed two individuals on the boat frantically scurrying after the apparent drone hit the boat in a flash of light.
Additional video posted to social media showed individuals screaming, “There’s a fire on the front deck,” as large flames rose.
Thunberg, a 22-year-old eco warrior, was on one of 20 boats that set off for Gaza from Barcelona on Aug. 31 on what they called the “largest solidarity mission” in history — while Israel threatened to arrest and detain her.
Israel was again waiting to intercept the latest flotilla, this time with a plan to detain activists in harsh “terrorist-level” conditions in detention centers, Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported.
Before her departure, Thunberg claimed her flotilla was “part of a global uprising of people standing up” to “atrocities” in Gaza.
