Drones strike ship carrying aid to Gaza, organizers say

By SAM MEDNICK and RENATA BRITO TEL AVIV Israel AP Drones attacked a vessel carrying aid to Gaza on Friday in international waters off Malta the group organizing the shipment commented A fire broke out but was brought under control executives disclosed A nearby tugboat responded to a distress call from the Conscience which was carrying crew members and four civilians Malta s governing body announced adding that those aboard refused to leave the ship The group was safe and no injuries were broadcasted it stated The Freedom Flotilla Coalition accused Israel of attacking its ship The group did not provide evidence for that claim or to show that the fire was caused by drones but in a video it shared an explosion could be heard Another video exhibited a fire blazing The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment This photo provided by the Goverment of Cyprus and taken from the EDT ship AEOLUS shows The Conscience after a drone struck the vessel carrying aid to Gaza off the coast of Malta Friday May Cabinet of Cyprus via AP In this photo provided by the Establishment of Cyprus a fire burns on the ship The Conscience after a drone struck the vessel carrying aid to Gaza off the coast of Malta Friday May Cabinet of Cyprus via AP Show Caption of This photo provided by the Goverment of Cyprus and taken from the EDT ship AEOLUS shows The Conscience after a drone struck the vessel carrying aid to Gaza off the coast of Malta Friday May Regime of Cyprus via AP Expand Video from aboard the Conscience appeared to show at least two large holes in the deck with thick smoke surrounding the ship The person recording the footage explained the vessel had just been hit twice and was on fire about miles from port in Malta The video was provided by Codepink a grassroots peace and social justice movement Israel has cut off Gaza from all imports including food and medicine since the beginning of March leading to what is held to be the worst humanitarian dilemma in nearly months of war with Hamas which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States Canada and the European Union Israel says the blockade is an attempt to pressure the Palestinian group to release hostages it took during the Oct attack that triggered the conflict Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel that day killing certain people mostly civilians and abducting Hamas is still holding hostages of whom are deduced to be alive In response Israel launched an offensive that has killed over Palestinians mostly women and children according to Gaza s Healthcare Ministry which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians Israel s bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of the territory and left majority of of its population homeless When an aid flotilla attempted to break a blockade of Gaza in Israeli forces stormed a Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara killing nine people on board On Friday the Conscience was hit about miles kilometers from Malta according to the Freedom Flotilla Charlie Andreasson who has been involved with the group for more than a decade notified The Associated Press that he had spoken to people on board who announced there were two explosions and that a fire broke out Related Articles A pregnant woman in Gaza s ruins fears for her baby under Israel s blockade In first days Trump struggles to make good on promises to briskly end Ukraine and Gaza wars UN food agency says its food stocks in Gaza have run out under Israel s blockade Antisemitic incidents slow worldwide from post-Oct spike but remain higher than before Gaza war Israeli strike in Gaza kills as Arab mediators seek long-term truce Photos provided by the Cypriot agents presented the ship with damage to its side No one aboard the vessel could at once be reached for comment Earlier the group commented the strike appeared to have targeted the ship s generator causing a substantial breach in the hull and leaving it without power It announced that put the vessel at peril of sinking According to the ship-monitoring website Marine Traffic the Conscience left the Tunisian port of Bizerte on Tuesday and arrived Thursday morning in the area where it disclosed being attacked The organizers mentioned the ship was hit Friday just after midnight Supporters who had traveled to Malta were meant to board the ship to go to Gaza the group explained Andreasson commented environment activist Greta Thunberg was supposed to have participated The organization stated Thunberg did not board and was safe About two dozen contributors including Thunberg were taking smaller boats to the Conscience to assess the damage after the attack announced Medea Benjamin co-founder of Codepink Benjamin commented the ship s crew are from Turkey and Azerbaijan They still want to head toward Gaza but I don t know what shape the ship is in she announced The attack happened as aid groups have warned that the humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of collapse The International Committee of the Red Cross declared Friday that it will not have access to food medicine and life-saving supplies needed for plenty of of its Gaza programs if aid deliveries don t resume directly Programs at menace include common kitchens that often give residents the only meal they receive each day and could be forced to halt operations in a scarce weeks the ICRC declared Aid must be allowed to enter Gaza Hostages must be issued Civilians must be protected the committee noted Without immediate action Gaza will descend further into chaos that humanitarian efforts will not be able to mitigate Brito contributed from Barcelona Spain Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv Israel Giada Zampano in Rome Kevin Schembri Orland in St Julian s Malta Colleen Barry in Soave Italy Elena Becatoros and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem Jamey Keaten in Geneva Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia Cyprus and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this analysis Follow AP s war coverage at https apnews com 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