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"Our peaceful voyage to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza and stand in unwavering solidarity with its people presses forward with determination and resolve."
The Global Sumud Flotilla bound to break the humanitarian siege on Gaza imposed by the Israeli government confirmed one of its boats overnight was attacked by a drone armed with an incendiary device while anchored off the coast of Tunisia, the second such assault in two days.
The group said a boat named the Alma, which is sailing under the British flag, "sustained fire damage on its top deck" before the flames were extinguished and that all aboard passengers were safe and accounted for. A separate boat, the Family, was struck approximately 24 hours earlier in a similar attack.
Footage taken from a security camera aboard the vessel shows the moment just before the strike occurs with a member of the crew nearly struck as a ball of fire hurls down on the deck:
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Following the attack, crew members of the Alma say they found the charred charred remains of an electronic device on the deck of their ship and posted a picture of it online:

In a statement, the international group behind the GSF effort, said in a social media post that while "a full investigation is ongoing, the presence of such a device provides further indication that the boat was deliberately targeted."
Following the attack, members of the GSF steering committee, issued a video explaining the nature of the attack and why it would not deter them from continuing their journey to bring life-saving supplies to Gaza and draw international attention to the carnage happening there on the ground with no end in sight.
"We know it's outrageous," said one member, Thiago Ávila, of the attack, "but it's nothing compared to what they are doing to the Palestinians in Gaza every single day. That's why we need to continue going. That's why we are prepared and we will set sail, because we know its in the hearts and the minds of the majority of the people on this planet. They cannot stand children being starved to death, hospitals being bombed, schools being bombed. And that's why we will continue to sail. We will not stop."
These repeat attacks, the group said in a separate statement, "come during intensified Israeli aggression on Palestinians in Gaza, and are an orchestrated attempt to distract and derail our mission."
"The Global Sumud Flotilla continues undeterred," the statement continued. "Our peaceful voyage to break Israel's illegal siege on Gaza and stand in unwavering solidarity with its people presses forward with determination and resolve."
"Our peaceful mission to break the siege on Gaza and stand in solidarity with its people continues with determination and resolve," said members of the flotilla's steering committee.
Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the Port of Sidi Bou Said in Tunis, Tunisia early Tuesday morning after the international group organizing a humanitarian aid mission to Gaza said one of its boats had been struck by what was believed to be a drone.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said one of the main vessels of its fleet of 50 boats was struck while it was anchored in the harbor. The boat was carrying the group's steering committee, which includes climate leader Greta Thunberg, human rights activist Yasemin Acar, and Brazilian organizer Thiago Ávila.
Footage taken from a boat docked near the "Family Boat" showed the moment an object appeared to drop onto the vessel, triggering an explosion.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said no one was injured in the apparent attack and said that "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," said the group in a statement.
Political commentator Brian Allen posted another video taken aboard the Family Boat.
The flotilla is the latest fleet of boats headed for Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and break the siege Israel has imposed since October 2023 as it has relentlessly attacked the exclave, killing more than 64,000 Palestinians so far, and said it is planning a complete takeover of Gaza.
Nearly 400 people, including at least 140 children, have died of starvation caused by Israel's near-total blockade on humanitarian aid. More than 1,000 people have been killed while trying to access food, including at hubs set up by the privatized, US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said in late July that parts of Gaza are facing famine, with one in three people going days without consuming any food.
Israel has stopped several aid boats from reaching Gaza in recent months, including the Madleen and the Handala, and detained organizers. The Conscience, another boat operated by the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, was reportedly bombed by Israel in May off the coast of Malta, forcing organizers to turn back.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has threatened to designate humanitarian aid organizers trying to reach Gaza by boat as "terrorists" and to detain them.
On Tuesday, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said the reports of a drone attack have to be verified but noted Israel's "history" of attacking aid vessels bound for Gaza.
Tunisian officials have said the vessel was not attacked by a drone and blamed the fire that broke out on a cigarette butt or lighter.
"There is no other state protecting this boat other than Tunisia creating a safe port," said Albanese. "The question is, if it's confirmed that this is a drone attack, it will be an assault, an aggression against Tunisia and against Tunisian sovereignty."
"We cannot keep on tolerating this," she added, "and normalizing the illegal."
"A tsunami of humanity is rising for Gaza."
As Israeli forces unlawfully boarded the Madleen, a boat carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, and detained the volunteers on the vessel on Monday, approximately 1,000 pro-Palestinian advocates from across Northwest Africa were boarding a convoy of buses and cars in Tunisia—planning to travel for days to the Rafah crossing, where they aim to break Israel's blockade that's starving people across the war-torn enclave.
The Sumud Convoy, whose name means "steadfastness" or "resilience" in Arabic, is carrying aid and being led by the Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine in Tunisia, and has ties to the Global March for Gaza, which includes rights advocates from about 50 countries across the world who were en route to Cairo on Wednesday.
"This is a civil and popular initiative in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza," Wael Naouar, a member of the organizing team, told The New Arab. "We refuse to remain silent."
The convoy crossed into Libya on Tuesday and has been resting after a full day of travel as organizers wait for permission to cross the eastern part of the divided country.
In Tripoli in the western region, the volunteers have been welcomed by hundreds of locals, and fuel station owners have reportedly said they will provide free gas to all cars, buses, and trucks that join the convoy.
"This visit brings us joy," architect Alaa Abdel Razzaq told Agence France-Presse.
Along with the current delay in receiving approval from eastern Libyan authorities to cross the region, the convoy and the Global March for Gaza could face resistance from the Egyptian government as organizers plan to march for three days from El Arish in the Sinai Peninsula to the Rafah crossing.
Egypt classifies the area between El Arish and Rafah as a military zone and has not released a statement on whether it will allow the march.
If the volunteers make it to the Rafah crossing, they will have to contend with the Israel Defense Forces. In addition to abducting international activists including Swedish climate leader Greta Thunberg and Palestinian-French member of European Parliament Rima Hassan this week, Israeli forces killed 10 activists carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on a Turkish flotilla in 2010.
Ghaya Ben Mbarek, an independent journalist from Tunis, told Al Jazeera that people in the convoy "are feeling courage and anger" as they head toward the Gaza border.
"The message people here want to send to the world is that even if you stop us by sea, or air, then we will come, by the thousands, by land," Ben Mbarek told Al Jazeera. "We will literally cross deserts... to stop people from dying from hunger."
Fadi Quran of the U.S.-based advocacy group Avaaz said the journey of the convoy—which has been growing as more people have joined since leaving Tunisia—is "one of the most beautiful things humanity has to offer in 2025."
"A tsunami of humanity is rising for Gaza," said Quran. "Amplify it."
The Sumud Convoy is supported by the Tunisian General Labor Union, the National Bar Association, the Tunisian League for Human Rights, and the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, while groups including the Palestinian Youth Movement and CodePink are affiliated with the Global March for Gaza.
Advocates from countries including the Netherlands, Canada, and Ireland plan to arrive in Cairo on Thursday, when they hope to begin the three-day march to Rafah.
Canadian Sen. Yuen Pau Woo wrote to the Egyptian government on Tuesday, asking for support for the march.
"I believe that Egypt's support for this humanitarian action would send a powerful message to the international community," said Woo.
Kellie McConnell, a member of Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine, also expressed hope that the international action will force governments around the world, including those that have backed Israel's bombardment and blockade of Gaza, to "pay attention and do everything in their power" to end the attacks that have killed more than 55,000 Palestinians.
"We can turn the tables in this genocide," said McConnell. "We can stop the absolutely appalling brutalization and desperate treatment of people in Palestine."
If the advocates are blocked at the border like the Madleen was intercepted on Monday, one activist in the Sumud Convoy told The New Arab, "even that will send a message."
"People over power," they said. "If they stop dozens, thousands will rise."