Drones strike ship carrying aid to Gaza, humanitarian group says

TEL AVIV Israel AP Drones attacked a vessel carrying aid to Gaza while it was off the coast of Malta on Friday the humanitarian group organizing the shipment stated A fire broke out but was brought under control administration disclosed A nearby tugboat responded to a distress call from the ship which was carrying crew members and four civilians Malta s leadership reported The Freedom Flotilla Coalition commented in an email there were no injuries among those on board its vessel Charlie Andreasson who has been involved with the Freedom Flotilla for more than a decade reported The Associated Press that he had spoken to people on board who mentioned there were two explosions and a fire broke out The group did not provide evidence that the fire was caused by drones but in a video it shared an explosion can be heard Another video presented a fire blazing People on board the ship were not instantly reachable for comment Cypriot bureaucrats shared photos showing the Conscience with damage to its hull Earlier the group mentioned the strike appeared to have targeted the ship s generator causing a substantial breach in the hull and leaving it without power It declared that put the vessel at jeopardy of sinking Israel has cut off Gaza from all imports including food and medicine since the beginning of March in what is assumed to be the worst humanitarian problem in nearly months of war Israel says it is an attempt to pressure Hamas to release hostages it took during the Oct attack that triggered the conflict When an aid flotilla attempted to break a blockade of Gaza in Israeli forces stormed a Turkish ship Mavi Marmara killing nine people on board That led to a breakdown in Turkish-Israeli relations Israel s army didn t respond to a request for comment The Freedom Flotilla reported the vessel called the Conscience was attacked about miles kilometers from Malta It flies the flag of Palau a tiny island nation in Micronesia Andreasson noted Brito contributed from Barcelona Spain Associated Press writer Giada Zampano contributed from Rome Follow AP s war coverage at https apnews com hub israel-hamas-war Source