A boat part of Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla was likely set ablaze by a cigarette on board, and not an Israeli ‘drone strike,’ as claimed by the anti-Israel activist group, preliminary investigation shows.
On late Monday, Thunberg’s Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) pointed fingers at Israel when fire broke out on one of its boats in Tunisian waters.
Israeli officials believe that some of the leading Hamas leaders were eliminated in the strike. “Israeli officials have said they are increasingly optimistic that Hamas’s leadership was killed after 10 bombs were dropped on the site, noting that Hamas has tried to conceal the loss of its leaders in the past,” The Times of Israel reported.
Tunisia’s government and security agencies denied the claims. “A spokesperson for Tunisia’s national guard told the Agence France-Presse news agency that “no drone” had been detected and the investigation was ongoing,” BBC reported Tuesday. “He added that an initial inspection indicated the explosion originated inside the vessel.”
The country’s Ministry of Interior also rejected the ‘drone strike’ theory peddled by Greta’s group. “Tunisia’s interior ministry said that reports of a drone hitting a boat at its Sidi Bou Said port “have no basis in truth”, and that a fire broke out on the vessel itself,” Reuters reported Tuesday.
This is the second tragedy to hit Greta’s ill-fated flotilla. Last weekend, a sea storm forced the Gaza-bound vessels to return to the Spanish port of Barcelona. The flotilla wants to defy the Israeli Navy guarding the shores of Gaza.
The fire was likely caused by an unattended cigarette left by a member of Gerta’s flotilla, the British daily Independent reports:
The Tunisian authorities suggested that the fire might have been caused by a cigarette.After the alleged strike, dozens of people gathered outside Tunisia’s Sidi Bou Said port, where the flotilla’s boats were docked, waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Free Palestine”.The Tunisian authorities said the explosion originated inside the vessel and that reports of a suspected drone attack on the flotilla “have no basis in truth”.Tunisia’s national guard said their investigation was ongoing but “no drones have been detected”. “According to preliminary findings, a fire broke out in the life jackets on board a ship anchored 50 miles from the port of Sidi Bou Said, Houcem Eddine Jebabli, a spokesperson for the national guard was quoted by AFP news agency as saying.
The claims of an alleged ‘drone strike’ were widely reported in the media. “Aid Group Says Drone Struck Gaza-Bound Boat Docked in Tunisia,” The New York Times‘ headline said.
This is the second Gaza flotilla being organized by the former climate celebrity. In June 2025, Greta and a group of anti-Israel activists illegally entered the Israeli waters on board a luxury yacht. The Israeli Navy intercepted the boat and deported them back to Europe. Thunberg was photographed gleefully relishing a sandwich handed out by the Israeli special forces.
Greta’s flotilla is carrying hardly any humanitarian aid for the residents of Gaza. It is instead packed with a boat-load of B-list European celebrities.
If Greta really cared about the people of Gaza, she would be agitating against Hamas. The terrorist group poses the biggest threat to the delivery of food and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Hamas has repeatedly attacked and killed Israeli soldiers securing humanitarian corridors and relief convoys. According to the United Nations’ own data, up to 90 percent of all aid trucks entering Gaza between late May and early August had been looted or hijacked by Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorists.
Greta expects to be at the helm of a 70-boat flotilla when she again violates Israeli waters later this month. “Up to 70 boats are expected to be a part of the final journey, with more ships set to join from ports in Italy and Tunisia over the coming days,” Germany’s DW TV reported on September 1. “The flotilla is expected to arrive at the war-ravaged coastal enclave in mid-September, marking a fourth attempt so far this year to break the maritime blockade that is in place.”
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