ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A humanitarian ship carrying aid for the Gaza Strip was hit by a drone strike off the coast of Malta on Friday, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition that organized the aid shipment.

In a post on X, the humanitarian organization reported that their ship, the Conscience, was targeted by an armed drone in the early hours of the morning, noting that “the front of the vessel was targeted twice, resulting in a fire and a breach in the hull.”

A total of 16 people were on board at the time of the incident, with no casualties having been reported.

Video footage of the incident shows the Conscience in flames, with a Maltese tugboat responding to the crew’s SOS calls and rescuing those on board.

Israel has yet to comment on the matter.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition describes itself as “a grassroots people-to-people solidarity movement composed of campaigns and initiatives from different parts of the world, working together to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.”

Israel has blockaded the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza since early March, resulting in devastating consequences for the afflicted population, with the UN’s World Food Programme reporting in late April that the last of its food stocks in the Strip had been depleted.

Itamar Mann, an associate professor at the University of Haifa in Israel, commented that “assuming, as appears to be the case, that the attack is attributable to Israel, it signals a clear violation of the right to life, as well as a war crime. It is only lucky that the measure has not claimed lives. The location of the attack in international waters proximate to Malta requires urgent investigation and accountability.”

A previous flotilla attempt to breach an Israeli blockade in 2010 resulted in 9 people being killed after Israeli forces raided a Turkish ship en route to Gaza.