Drones strike ship carrying aid to Gaza, organizers say

By SAM MEDNICK and RENATA BRITO TEL AVIV Israel AP Drones attacked a vessel carrying aid to Gaza on Friday in international waters off Malta the group organizing the shipment declared A fire broke out but was brought under control personnel revealed A nearby tugboat responded to a distress call from the Conscience which was carrying crew members and four civilians Malta s cabinet commented adding that those aboard refused to leave the ship The group was safe and no injuries were disclosed it commented The Freedom Flotilla Coalition accused Israel of attacking its ship The group did not provide evidence for that claim or to show that the fire was caused by drones but in a video it shared an explosion could be heard Another video proved a fire blazing The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment This photo provided by the Goverment of Cyprus and taken from the EDT ship AEOLUS shows The Conscience after a drone struck the vessel carrying aid to Gaza off the coast of Malta Friday May Cabinet of Cyprus via AP In this photo provided by the Regime of Cyprus a fire burns on the ship The Conscience after a drone struck the vessel carrying aid to Gaza off the coast of Malta Friday May Leadership of Cyprus via AP Show Caption of This photo provided by the Goverment of Cyprus and taken from the EDT ship AEOLUS shows The Conscience after a drone struck the vessel carrying aid to Gaza off the coast of Malta Friday May Authorities of Cyprus via AP Expand Video from aboard the Conscience appeared to show at least two large holes in the deck with thick smoke surrounding the ship The person recording the footage mentioned the vessel had just been hit twice and was on fire about miles from port in Malta The video was provided by Codepink a grassroots peace and social justice movement Israel has cut off Gaza from all imports including food and medicine since the beginning of March leading to what is considered to be the worst humanitarian dilemma in nearly months of war with Hamas which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States Canada and the European Union Israel says the blockade is an attempt to pressure the Palestinian group to release hostages it took during the Oct attack that triggered the conflict Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel that day killing chosen people mostly civilians and abducting Hamas is still holding hostages of whom are maintained to be alive In response Israel launched an offensive that has killed over Palestinians mostly women and children according to Gaza s Physical condition Ministry which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians Israel s bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of the territory and left majority of its population homeless When an aid flotilla attempted to break a blockade of Gaza in Israeli forces stormed a Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara killing nine people on board On Friday the Conscience was hit about miles kilometers from Malta according to the Freedom Flotilla Charlie Andreasson who has been involved with the group for more than a decade explained The Associated Press that he had spoken to people on board who noted there were two explosions and that a fire broke out Related Articles A pregnant woman in Gaza s ruins fears for her baby under Israel s blockade In first days Trump struggles to make good on promises to speedily end Ukraine and Gaza wars UN food agency says its food stocks in Gaza have run out under Israel s blockade Antisemitic incidents slow worldwide from post-Oct spike but remain higher than before Gaza war Israeli strike in Gaza kills as Arab mediators seek long-term truce Photos provided by the Cypriot administration exhibited the ship with damage to its side No one aboard the vessel could directly be reached for comment Earlier the group reported the strike appeared to have targeted the ship s generator causing a substantial breach in the hull and leaving it without power It disclosed that put the vessel at vulnerability of sinking According to the ship-monitoring website Marine Traffic the Conscience left the Tunisian port of Bizerte on Tuesday and arrived Thursday morning in the area where it broadcasted being attacked The organizers commented the ship was hit Friday just after midnight Supporters who had traveled to Malta were meant to board the ship to go to Gaza the group declared Andreasson noted atmosphere activist Greta Thunberg was supposed to have participated The organization mentioned Thunberg did not board and was safe About two dozen supporters including Thunberg were taking smaller boats to the Conscience to assess the damage after the attack stated Medea Benjamin co-founder of Codepink Benjamin announced the ship s crew are from Turkey and Azerbaijan They still want to head toward Gaza but I don t know what shape the ship is in she commented The attack happened as aid groups have warned that the humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of collapse The International Committee of the Red Cross stated Friday that it will not have access to food medicine and life-saving supplies needed for multiple of its Gaza programs if aid deliveries don t resume at once Programs at peril include common kitchens that often give residents the only meal they receive each day and could be forced to halt operations in a limited weeks the ICRC noted Aid must be allowed to enter Gaza Hostages must be circulated Civilians must be protected the committee announced Without immediate action Gaza will descend further into chaos that humanitarian efforts will not be able to mitigate Brito contributed from Barcelona Spain Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv Israel Giada Zampano in Rome Kevin Schembri Orland in St Julian s Malta Colleen Barry in Soave Italy Elena Becatoros and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem Jamey Keaten in Geneva Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia Cyprus and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this review Follow AP s war coverage at 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