Gaza freedom flotilla comes under attack by suspected Israeli drones in international waters

A peace flotilla heading to Gaza has come under attack in a series of suspected Israeli drone strikes whilst in international waters, sparking a fire onboard one of the vessels.

 The Conscience, part of the pro-Palestine Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was targeted by armed drones at 0:23am local time off the coast of Malta, the morning the ship was due to set sail for Gaza in a bid to break a media and aid blockade on the enclave.

Activists from 21 countries were onboard the vessel when it was struck twice at the hull starting a fire and power outage.

The group has not reported or attributed any blame for the attacks, but Israel is widely suspected to be behind it having targeted pro-Palestine flotillas in the past. The Hebrew-language Channel 13 appears to have confirmed Israel was behind the strikes, the activist group said.

"While we can not confirm 100 percent, we suspect Israel (is behind the attack)," Huwaida Arraf, one of the organisers of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition told The New Arab.

"Israel has threatened us and attacked us many times before, in 2010, killing 10 of our volunteers. It is also the primary entity interested in keeping us and any aid out of Gaza."

In 2010, Israel raided vessels from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition heading to Gaza, killing ten unarmed Turkish nationals and sparking a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

The group could not confirm reports that a tugboat was dispatched to the scene by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Rome due to disruptions in communications with the team after the strike.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Malta should ensure the safety of the crew and the international community should condemn the attack, putting pressure on Israel to end its siege on Gaza where famine-like scenes are emerging due to a lack of food and medicine.

"Under international maritime law and conventions Malta is obliged to act and ensure the safety of a civilian ship in distress within its proximity. The lack of response and information about the rescue efforts breaches international customary law," the group said in a statement.

"Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters."

Experts say that 600 aid trucks a day are needed to provide the minimum nutrition requirements for Gaza's 2.3 million population but for the past two months but Israel has not allowed one to enter the besieged enclave.