The front of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla ship shows severe structural damage after the reported drone attack. Image via Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0.
In the early hours of May 2, 2025, the humanitarian aid ship the Conscience, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was struck by drones in international waters near Malta. The attack caused significant damage, ignited a fire, and disabled the ship, which was traveling from Tunisia to Gaza to deliver essential supplies and protest Israel's siege.
The group shared a statement on social media:
BREAKING: At 00:23 Maltese time, a #FreedomFlotilla ship 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. An #SOS distress signal was sent. pic.twitter.com/J6oEQafuOb
— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) May 2, 2025
The vessel, registered under the Palau flag, was en route to deliver food and medical supplies and bring 30 global peace activists including climate activist Greta Thunberg to Gaza.
“This is just another example of how international law and human rights are being disregarded. This is an act of terrorism to attack a humanitarian mission like that,” Thunberg said on social media. The freedom flotilla also accused the Maltese authorities of blocking the volunteers from reaching the ship and preventing it from docking for repairs and treating four injured individuals.
“We are currently watching a live streamed genocide in Gaza, where 2 million people are being deliberately starved,” Thunberg added.
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Malta denied the accusations, stating the ship's crew refused to allow official inspection and assistance. Prime Minister Robert Abela said Malta is willing to facilitate repairs once the cargo is verified as solely humanitarian, stressing national security concerns.
Not the first time
The incident echoes previous Israeli attacks on Gaza-bound aid ships, including a fatal 2010 event when Israeli commandos intercepted the Mavi Marmara, killing nine people onboard and injuring many others, including one who later succumbed to his wounds.
The ship was part of a flotilla transporting humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. “It was a big story, more than 600 humanitarian activists, politicians, and doctors from 40 different nations had put together this fleet to deliver things like baby incubators and medicine to the people of Gaza,” one of the survivors recalls.
The United Nations Fact-Finding Mission to investigate the attack found that six of the people who were killed were summarily executed. Autopsies revealed that five were shot in the head from distances between two and 15 cm.
The attack on the Conscience was largely met with international and Arab silence. While Turkey condemned the incident, citing that its nationals were on board, and pledged to seek accountability, many other nations remained silent, including the European Union, despite the attack taking place on the borders of its international waters.
Systematic starvation
As the Conscience was attacked, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsened reaching what the UN secretary general described as “appalling and apocalyptic.” UNICEF warned of starvation, reporting that “more than 9,000 children have been admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition since the beginning of the year.”
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that “dozens of deaths have been reported from malnutrition or lack of medical care. The latest is a four-month-old infant, Jenan Saleh al-Skafi, who died of severe malnutrition at Al-Rantisi Hospital in western Gaza City.”
The organization called on states parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfil their obligation under Common Article 1 and “and act urgently to halt the genocide occurring in Gaza.”
By May 2, the Israeli blockade had led to the deaths of at least 57 Palestinians due to starvation, as thousands of trucks carrying vital supplies piled up at the border with Egypt.
The attack on the Conscience, the continuous starvation, and the subsequent international silence and inaction underscore the growing accusations of failure of the international community to uphold international law and stop what has been described as “the worst campaign of systematic starvation in modern history.”
