Reportage
Testimony from the flotilla firebombed by a drone
When the crew saw the drone flying over their heads – a quadcopter about 40 centimeters wide with three faint green lights, he says – everyone ran below deck. Except for one of them, Morad, who froze, staring up at the sky.
“This time, we have proof,” says Semih, a Turkish citizen and activist aboard the Alma, the ship that was attacked last Tuesday evening. Thanks to the crew’s quick reflexes, the new arson attack against a Global Sumud Flotilla boat for the second consecutive night left behind a valuable piece of evidence: a gas canister wrapped in burnt fabric.
“Yesterday, after the attack on the Family, they tried to deny it had been a drone. Now they can’t deny it.” Semih’s voice is full of pride for his crewmates’ quick reaction.
“Fifteen seconds after we were hit by the firebomb, we were at the water pumps. Three minutes later, the fire was out. That’s how we managed to cool the device down before it could melt,” Semih tells il manifesto while tinkering with the outboard motor of a small inflatable dinghy. He is ferrying participants of the humanitarian mission to Gaza back to the ships anchored in the bay of Sidi Bou Said. From the beach, we hear the very loud shouts and songs of thousands of people gathered to greet the flotilla’s departure from the Tunisian capital.
The Family was the first one hit – the flagship carrying the mission’s organizers and most prominent figures. Exactly 24 hours later, an identical incendiary device was dropped onto the Alma, the largest motor-powered vessel in the mission, which carries the bulk of the humanitarian aid and supplies for the smaller boats. There were nine people on board: “Nine people who refused to leave the ship and go ashore after the first attack. And who will now continue the voyage to Gaza,” Semih says, bursting with pride.
When the crew saw the drone flying over their heads – a quadcopter about 40 centimeters wide with three faint green lights, he says – everyone ran below deck. Except for one of them, Morad, who froze, staring up at the sky. “You never know how your body is going to react in a situation like that,” Semih reflects. “Morad was three meters from the fireball. He felt the heat on him, but luckily he wasn’t hurt.” Also on the dinghy with Semih is Heidi Matthews, a Canadian lawyer who just arrived in Tunis to board a ship of independent legal observers accompanying the flotilla. She listens to every detail of the attack, repeating them with the focus of someone already formulating legal action against those responsible.
Now, even the Tunisian authorities have been forced to announce an investigation, after having attributed the fire on the Family to a cigarette butt. Police immediately boarded the Alma to collect evidence, Semih continues. The only damage the ship sustained was the explosion of a small battery that operates one of the stern cranes, which is now out of order. But it’s nothing that will prevent the ship from continuing its voyage. No one, it seems, has any intention of letting themselves be intimidated.
A few hours before the second attack, about five hundred flotilla participants were gathered in a conference room at the Radisson Hotel in Tunis. The organizers had called a general assembly to share the information available on the attack on the Family and to discuss the next steps. Organizer Thiago Avila asked the assembly if they would still sail to Gaza. A unanimous and resounding “Yes!” rose from the packed room.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/flotilla-colpita-lammiraglia-gli-attivisti-non-si-scoraggiano on 2025-09-10