Suspected Second Drone Strike Hits Gaza Aid Flotilla Boat Carrying Irish Citizens
Image Credit: Freedom Flotilla Coalition handout via EPA-EFE
Suspected Second Drone Strike Hits Gaza Aid Flotilla Boat Carrying Irish Citizens
Text: Izzy Copestake
“The Irish government has a duty to uphold international law and protect Irish citizens.”
A second suspected drone attack has struck a boat in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), this time involving Irish citizens, as the international aid mission remains docked in Tunisia en route to Gaza.
The GSF confirmed that during the night of September 9, its vessel Alma, flying under the British flag, was hit by what it described as a drone-delivered incendiary device while docked in Tunisian waters at Sidi Bou Said. The incident, which was caught on CCTV, marks the second reported attack in two days.
Three Irish citizens, Tadhg Hickey (Cork), Fra Hughes (Belfast), and Tara Reynor O’Grady (Wicklow), are reportedly part of the Alma‘s crew. Hickey, a comedian and activist, was the only Irish participant aboard at the time of the strike, having just completed his night watch and gone to sleep.
According to the flotilla, the top deck of the Alma caught fire following the impact. The fire was quickly contained, and no one was injured. Photos and video of the incident, as well as remains of the burned device allegedly recovered from the deck, have been made publicly available by the group.
“Support us. Raise the alarm. Raise awareness. But make sure you keep focus on Palestine as well. Whatever happens to us here, we are not the story. Palestine is the story,” Hickey said in a video posted to Instagram after the incident.
The GSF condemned the attack as a deliberate act of sabotage, and described it as part of a broader campaign to derail its humanitarian mission. The flotilla, which includes activists from 44 countries, among them Greta Thunberg, is attempting to reach Gaza by sea to deliver aid and protest Israel’s longstanding naval blockade.
This latest incident follows a similar strike the previous night on another GSF boat in the same port. Tunisia’s interior ministry has denied drone involvement in that earlier fire, though the flotilla insists that both attacks were airborne and intentional.
GSF is now calling on the Irish government to demand safe passage for the vessels and protection for Irish citizens aboard. In its statement, the group called the attack, along with the continued siege and famine conditions in Gaza, a clear violation of international law.
“The Irish government has a duty to uphold international law and protect Irish citizens. Attacks on Irish citizens or any of the flotilla’s vessels and the forced starvation of the people of Gaza are all breaches of international law.”
The Global Sumud Flotilla said it remains undeterred and intends to continue its voyage to Gaza, framing its effort as an act of peaceful resistance and international solidarity amid the growing humanitarian crisis.
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