The Maltese government on Friday confirmed reports by NGOs and media that a vessel carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza via Turkish-organised Gaza Freedom Flotilla was struck by drones off the coast of Malta.

Initial reports had stated that Cyprus had received an SOS distress signal and sent a ship to help extinguish a fire which had resulted on board the vessel.

The defence ministry in Cyprus clarified that the ship was aided by a Limassol-based vessel, sailing under a Liberian flag, which happened to be in the area and responded to the SOS as per international maritime requirements.

The Maltese government reported that all 16 activists onboard the vessel were safe, including a 12-member crew and four additional unarmed passengers, and none suffered any injuries.

The vessel’s staff had been attacked by drones in international waters near Malta, 17 nautical miles off the coast, the Maltese government confirmed but there is currently no information on who may have carried out the attack.

The Freedom Flotilla sent out a call for help in the early hours on Friday, saying the front of the vessel was targeted twice, resulting in a fire and a breach in the hull.

The drone attack appeared to have targeted the ship’s generator, and the vessel was at risk of sinking. The Maltese state dispatched a tug boat which started to extinguish the fire on board, bringing it under control by roughly 2.30am [Cyprus time]. An additional vessel of the armed forces of Malta was dispatched to provide further aid.

Those on board the aid ship refused to disembark the vessel and “the ship remains outside of [Maltese] waters and is being monitored by the authorities,” the Maltese government announced.

Earlier, the Times of Malta quoted activist Andre Callus from Moviment Graffitti, a left-wing Maltese organisation, saying he had reported the distress call to the local police. Graffitti has been supporting activists from the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in preparation for a mission to break Israel’s genocidal blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, he said.

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla is a small fleet of ships organised in 2010 by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH). Its stated mission is to ferry humanitarian aid and construction materials to the Palestinian population and non-violent resistance to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Under typical circumstances, aid was usually first taken to Israel to be inspected and then transferred to Gaza.

The coalition has been documenting reports since 2006, illustrating the devastating timeline the Israeli blockade has had on the civilian Palestinian population of Gaza over the past twenty years.

In 2010 international outcry ensued after a Freedom Flotilla ship was raided by Israeli commandos resulting in the killing of nine activists. In April 2024 another mission by the organisation towards Gaza carrying over 5,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid was aborted after the Guinea-Bissau International Ships Registry (GBISR) withdrew its flag from two of the mission’s ships, making them unable to set sail from Turkey.

United Nations experts had demanded the safe passage of the flotilla and called on Israel to adhere to international law and orders of the International Court of Justice to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.