Organizers of the Gaza “freedom flotilla”, who intended to “break the Israeli siege” on the Gaza Strip, claimed that it was attacked by drones off the coast of Malta in international waters, CNN reported on Friday.

“There is a hole in the vessel right now and the ship is sinking,” Yasemin Acar, the spokesperson for the terror flotilla, told CNN.

Vidoes posted on the X by the “coalition” show a fire burning on a ship, which, according to marine websites, is the Palau-flagged “Conscience” ship that departed from Tunisia.

The organizers of the flotilla, who accuse Israel of “genocide” on their social media pages, wrote about the incident on social media: “At 00:23 Maltese time, the Freedom Flotilla vessel 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.”

“SOS distress signal was sent out, to which only southern Cyprus has responded by dispatching a vessel. No other countries have responded. The drone attack appears to have specifically targeted the ship’s generator, and the vessel is now at risk of sinking with 30 international human rights activists on board.

“Call the Maltese government NOW.”

Shortly later, the Maltese government issued a statement contradicting the organizers’ claims, saying that everyone aboard the ship, 12 crew members and 4 civilians, is safe. No mention was made of “30 international activists.”

“The vessel had 12 crew members on board and four civilian passengers; no casualties were reported,” the statement said, adding that, unlike the organizers’ claims, the incident received a prompt response and was not ignored for “hours.”

Israel has not commented on the report.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)