Malta, Greece, Turkey said threatening to seize Gaza activists’ drone-hit ship if it docks
Activists with pro-Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition say Palau revoked its flag from Conscience shortly before alleged Israeli attack on reportedly Hamas-affiliated vessel
At least three countries are said to have denied entry and threatened to confiscate a reportedly Hamas-affiliated Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship whose operators accused Israel on Friday of attacking it with drones in international waters near Malta.
Tighe Barry, an activist with anti-war group Codepink, told the Associated Press that the Pacific island nation of Palau, which has warm ties with Israel, revoked its flag from the Conscience prior to the alleged attack.
As a result, authorities in Malta, Greece and Turkey have warned that they would seize the ship if it comes to port, he said, adding that it was unclear where the vessel could stop for repairs. There was no formal comment from those countries.
“To get a new flag will take months, so they’re just stuck out there,” said Barry, who was among a group of activists who took speedboats to the Conscience after the attack.
The boats were turned away by Maltese authorities, he said, but one person made it aboard and spoke to the captain.
The Conscience was operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international non-governmental organization, which is campaigning to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza. Another Coalition ship to Gaza in 2010 was stopped and boarded by Israeli troops, leading to the death of nine of the activists, who resisted the troops and injured 10 of them. Other ships have similarly been stopped and boarded, without loss of life.
The Saudi Al Arabiya news channel reported, citing a Western security source, that Hamas was behind the Conscience vessel and that those onboard planned to engage with troops from the Israel Defense Forces as they approached the Gaza shore.
According to the ship-monitoring website Marine Traffic, the Conscience had left the Tunisian port of Bizerte on Tuesday and arrived Thursday morning in the area where it reported being attacked.
The Freedom Flotilla said Friday that the Conscience had been struck twice overnight by armed drones 17 nautical miles (31.5 kilometers) east of Malta, “causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull.” The statement added that “Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law.
The Israeli foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the allegation by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
The group released footage showing two large holes in the ship’s deck, with thick smoke surrounding the vessel. The person recording the footage said the ship had been hit twice. Further footage recorded in daylight showed debris surrounding the holes.
The ship’s generator was badly damaged and would need to be repaired before it could continue, said Charlie Andreasson, who has been involved with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition for more than a decade.
The coalition said it organized a non-violent action under a media blackout to avoid any potential sabotage. Asked whether the group believes Israel was behind the attack, a spokesperson told AFP they “suspected” that was the case.
“While we cannot confirm 100%, we suspect it’s Israel,” Hay Sha Wiya said, calling the country “the primary entity interested in keeping us and any aid out of Gaza.”
Another spokeswoman, Caoimhe Butterly, said the attack took place as the ship was preparing for activists to board from another vessel. A transfer at sea had been planned rather than the ship going to harbor, for bureaucratic reasons, she said. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg told Reuters she was in Malta and had been supposed to board the ship.
The Maltese government said the vessel and its crew were secured in the early hours of the morning after a nearby tug assisted with firefighting operations following an SOS call from the Conscience. The government said there were 16 people on board the ship, while Thunberg and the Freedom Flotilla gave the number to be 30.
In a statement Friday evening, Malta also said “no aircraft or vessel currently mentioned in local and foreign media in relation to the case of the vessel Conscience” had entered the country’s airspace or territorial waters, which stretch to 12 nautical miles (19.3 kilometers) from the island.
BREAKING: At 00:23 Maltese time, a #FreedomFlotilla ship was subjected to a drone attack. The front of the vessel was targeted twice, resulting in a fire and a breach in the hull. The ship is currently located in international waters near #Malta. An #SOS distress signal was sent. pic.twitter.com/J6oEQafuOb
— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) May 2, 2025
Turkey’s foreign ministry said Turkish nationals were on board at the time of the incident, and it was working with Maltese authorities to transfer them to a safe location.
“We condemn in the strongest terms this attack on a civilian ship,” it said, noting that there were “allegations that the ship was targeted by Israeli drones.”
“All necessary efforts will be made to reveal the details of the attack as soon as possible and to bring the perpetrators to justice,” it said.
The alleged Israeli attack on the Conscience came some two months after Israel halted the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.
The flow of aid stopped on March 2, after the expiration of the Gaza ceasefire and the hostage deal’s 42-day first phase, amid Israel’s refusal to negotiate the second and Hamas’s refusal to extend the first. Israel resumed hostilities in Gaza on March 18.
Aid agencies say there is a growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
The stop on aid entering Gaza was part of an Israeli effort to pressure Hamas back into a hostage deal. At the same time, the IDF resumed its offensive in Gaza, seizing large sections of the Strip’s territory and killing an estimated 400 members of terror groups, including dozens of top officials in Hamas’s politburo and military wing.
According to the terror group’s health ministry, more than 52,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far. The toll cannot be verified and does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.
Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostage, sparking the war in Gaza.
The Times of Israel Community.