Four drone transport and surveillance aircraft in the area: the Gaza flotilla accuses Israel of attacks on its ships

BarcelonaThe Global Sumud Flotilla accuses Israel of the attacks against two of its flagships anchored in Tunisia after setting sail from Barcelona. Using flight logs, the investigation documents the movements of four Israeli aircraft—two transporting drones and two surveillance aircraft—that allegedly carried the unmanned aircraft to military bases in Malta and Sicily. The drones then flew autonomously over the Mediterranean to drop two incendiary charges on both ships in the early hours of September 9 and 10, which caused fires on the bows of the Family and Alma vessels. The crew members were able to extinguish the fires, and there were no injuries. If confirmed, this would be an attack against civilians on the territory of a third country (Tunisia) and against Portugal and the United Kingdom, given the flags flown by the two vessels attacked. The investigation questions the official explanation given by the Tunisian authorities and the Spanish government, which treated the fires as an accident.

Flight logs confirm the movement of four Israeli military aircraft in the Mediterranean on September 2:

• A plane LockHeed Hercules 130 The Israeli Air Force's drone-equipped aircraft took off from Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel at 12:08 p.m. and landed at Sigonella Air Base in Sicily at 4:40 p.m. It remained on the ground for three and a half hours before taking off again at 8:17 p.m. and returning to its point of origin.
• Another Israeli device Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, Also designed to transport drones, it departed from the same Israeli military base a few minutes later than the first and landed in Malta around 4:35 p.m., although in this case it disconnected its positioning signal upon landing. After three hours on the ground, it took off from Malta again and returned to base.
• An airplane Gulfstream 5 An Israeli air force intelligence and surveillance aircraft took off from the same Israeli military base at 3:52 p.m. and flew over Malta and the Tunisian coast between 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., during which time it slowed down and could not be tracked. It returned to Israel and landed at its departure point at 10:32 p.m.
• Other Gulfstream 5 An Israeli intelligence and surveillance aircraft equipped with signals control systems took off from the same Israeli military base at 3:59 p.m. and flew over Malta and the vicinity of the Tunisian coast between 6:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. It then returned to the same Israeli military base.

These flight logs are posted on the ADS-B Exchange website, which collects data from a network of aviation and new technology experts, with the aim of offering "an unfiltered and uncensored window into global air movements," the portal itself says.

If these planes indeed transported drones to Malta and Sicily, the drones could have flown autonomously over the distance to Tunisia, dropped the incendiary payloads using information collected by surveillance aircraft on September 9 and 10, and then returned without a trace at the locations. This version is also corroborated by the testimony of the crew members who were on the boats at the time of the attack and who heard the drones approaching and departing, a sound that was also recorded on the vessels' security camera videos.

The searches and witnesses add to the threats from Israel's far-right Interior Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who threatened to treat the flotilla activists as "terrorists" and a "threat to national security." This also adds to the precedents, such as the Israeli drone attack on the ship using the same type of aircraft in Malta on May 1. Conscience which also sought to open a humanitarian maritime corridor in Gaza and was rendered useless.

"We have a well-founded belief that the attacks were carried out using operational assets transported by Israel to Malta and Sicily," the Flotilla states. They are "premeditated attacks using low-capacity projectiles designed to cause damage" with the aim of intimidation. The activists also recall that these attacks were allegedly carried out from within EU territory and using the airspace of Malta and Italy, demanding protection for their non-violent mission to break the Israeli siege of Gaza. Afterwards, due to delays caused by these incidents and organizational problems, the flotilla set sail from Tunisia last night and in the coming days will join the boats that left Italy and, together, will leave Greece for the Strip.