Bombay Durpun - Aid flotilla activists say determined to reach Gaza despite 'drone attack'

The flotilla organisers had said late Monday that one of their boats was hit by a suspected UAV off the coast of Tunisia, but authorities there said "no drones" had been detected.

"Our will is stronger and we are more determined (than ever) to break the blockade against Gaza," Tunisian organiser Ghassen Henchiri told a crowd in Tunis.

Nadir al-Nuri, a member of the steering committee, told AFP that the flotilla was set to depart the Tunisian capital on Wednesday as scheduled.

The flotilla, which aims to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, arrived in Tunisia at the weekend and was anchored off the coast of Sidi Bou Said when it reported the incident.

Some members of the flotilla said they saw the drone, adding that the boat's bow caught fire immediately after.

Authorities dismissed reports of a drone strike as "completely unfounded", suggesting the fire may have been caused by a cigarette butt.

But security footage posted by the flotilla organisers later showed a burning mass falling from a distance onto the ship.

"The Global Sumud Flotilla confirms that one of the main boats... was struck by what is suspected to be a drone," the organisers had said on social media, adding that none of the six people aboard the boat at the time was hurt.

The vessel was in Tunisian waters when a fire broke out and was quickly extinguished, according to an AFP journalist who arrived shortly after the flames had been doused.

- '100 percent drone' -

Tunisian national guard spokesman Houcem Eddine Jebabli told AFP "no drones have been detected".

Brazilian activist Thiago Avila posted a video on Instagram featuring testimony from another member of the flotilla who claimed to have seen a drone.

"It was 100 percent a drone that dropped a bomb," the member says in the video.

The flotilla denounced the incident as "acts of aggression aiming to derail (its) mission".

An AFP journalist who arrived at the port of Sidi Bou Said overnight said the vessel was surrounded by other boats but that flames were no longer visible.

Hundreds of people gathered at the port, chanting "Free, free Palestine".

The Sidi Bou Said port lies some two kilometres away from the Tunisian presidential palace in Carthage, which can be seen from its harbour.

- 'Assault against Tunisia' -

"If it's confirmed that this is a drone strike, it will be an assault, an aggression against Tunisia and Tunisian sovereignty," Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories who lives in Tunis, told reporters at the port.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

The United Nations declared a state of famine last month in parts of Gaza, warning that 500,000 people face "catastrophic" conditions.

The Global Sumud Flotilla -- "sumud" meaning steadfastness in Arabic -- describes itself as an independent group not linked to any government or political party.

Its stated aim is to reach Gaza by mid-September to deliver humanitarian aid, after two previous attempts in June and July were blocked by Israel.

Among its high-profile participants is Greta Thunberg, who addressed pro-Palestinian campaigners in Tunisia on Sunday.

The Tunisian flotilla is due to depart for the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, after being delayed multiple times by weather conditions and other issues including the late arrival of boats from Barcelona.

P.Mueller--BD