MALTA, May 2, 2025 (WAFA) — A vessel of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international grassroots movement dedicated to ending the Israeli blockade of Gaza, was attacked by an unmanned drone early Friday while sailing in international waters off Malta.
The targeted ship caught fire and is now nearly submerged. Thirty international activists — from various European countries — remain aboard. They were en route to deliver urgently needed aid to Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Despite repeated distress calls, no nearby nations responded with assistance. The PLO’s Department of Human Rights and Civil Society described the inaction as a serious humanitarian failure and a blatant violation of international law and the duty to protect human life.
The department held the international community, particularly the United Nations and European nations, fully responsible for the safety of the aid workers. It called for the immediate formation of an independent and transparent international investigation committee to uncover the details of what it called a “cowardly attack” and to hold those responsible accountable.
The PLO also demanded urgent international protection for humanitarian convoys bound for Gaza and the enforcement of safe passage for aid missions under international humanitarian law.
It also urged global civil society and human rights advocates to act swiftly to rescue the activists and to break the ongoing silence over what it described as a "new crime against humanity and human dignity."
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