Ship hit by two drones near Malta on Friday; NGO blames Israel for attack.

An international NGO that intends to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea has said it was in talks with Malta’s government about allowing a vessel to enter Maltese waters to repair damage caused by a drone attack.

The ship named Conscience, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), suffered damage to its front section including a loss of power when it was hit by two drones just outside Maltese territorial waters in the central Mediterranean early on Friday, the NGO said on Sunday.

The coalition, an international non-governmental group, said Israel, which has blockaded and bombarded Gaza, was to blame for the incident.

#FreedomFlotilla Press statement 04-05-2025 : “we received a very welcome update from the government of Malta@MaltaGov, with a stated intent to provide logistical supports and potential repairs to our ship, the ‘Conscience’….’ (read more…)https://t.co/PVk6qjJsM3

— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) May 4, 2025

The Conscience, which set off from Tunisia, had been waiting to take on board some 30 peace activists from around the world before trying to sail to Gaza in the eastern Mediterranean. The ship had been seeking to deliver aid including food and medicines to the besieged enclave, where aid groups warn people are struggling to survive following a two-month total blockade by Israel.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said she was in Malta and had been planning to board the ship as part of the flotilla.

Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday that Malta was prepared to assist the ship with necessary repairs so that it could continue on its journey, once it was satisfied that the vessel held only humanitarian aid.

Coalition officials said on Sunday that the ship was in no danger of sinking, but that they wanted to be sure it would be safe from further attacks while undergoing repairs, and able to sail out again.

Earlier on Sunday, the coalition had accused Malta of impeding access to its ship. Malta denied the claim, saying the crew had refused assistance and even refused to allow a surveyor on board to assess the damage.

“The FFC would like to clarify our commitment to engagement with [Maltese] authorities to expedite the temporary docking of our ship for repairs and surveyors, so we can continue on the urgent humanitarian mission to Gaza,” the coalition said in a statement later in the day.

A Malta government spokesman said its offer was to assist in repairs out at sea once the boat’s cargo was verified to be aid.

Coalition officials said the surveyor was welcome to board as part of a deal being negotiated with Malta.

Israel halted humanitarian aid to Gaza two months ago, shortly before it broke a ceasefire and restarted its war against Hamas, which has devastated the Palestinian enclave and killed more than 51,000 people.

Another NGO ship on a similar mission to Gaza in 2010 was stopped and boarded by Israeli troops, and nine activists were killed. Other such ships have similarly been stopped and boarded, with activists arrested.

Hamas issued a statement about the incident off Malta, accusing Israel of “piracy” and “state terrorism”.

Move comes despite global outrage over humanitarian blockade and calls to reach lasting ceasefire.

The Israeli military will call up tens of thousands of reservists to expand the country’s assault on the besieged Gaza Strip, army chief Eyal Zamir says.

He made the announcement on Sunday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to continue the war despite growing calls from inside Israel for a deal that would bring home Israeli captives held in Gaza and end the war, which has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians.

“This week, we are sending tens of thousands of draft orders to our reserve personnel to intensify and expand our action in Gaza. We are increasing the pressure to return our people [held captive in Gaza] and defeat Hamas,” Zamir said, adding that the Israeli military would “operate in additional areas and destroy all of [Hamas’s] infrastructure above and below ground”.

The military chief made the announcement during a visit to the Atlit naval base on Israel’s northern Mediterranean coast.

The announcement came before a Netanyahu-chaired security cabinet meeting to discuss an expansion of the war in Gaza, which began in October 2023 and has decimated the Palestinian enclave.

A growing movement within Israel has called for an end to the war, and an increasing number of reservists are ignoring call-ups.

Two government officials told the Reuters news agency that the cabinet would also discuss the possible resumption of aid to Gaza as humanitarian groups warn of increased starvation in the territory since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2.

Israel continues to face widespread global outrage over the conduct of its war in Gaza, which has shattered the territory’s infrastructure as well as its healthcare system and displaced the vast majority of its 2.3 million residents at least once since the war began.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in an interview with Israeli Army Radio, said he wanted to see a “powerful” expansion of the war but did not disclose details as to what new plans might entail.

“We need to increase the intensity and continue until we achieve total victory. We must win a total victory,” he said. He demanded that Israel bomb “the food and electricity supplies” in Gaza.

Leading humanitarian groups, including the Red Cross, have warned that the humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of “total collapse” and Palestinians face a “daily struggle to survive” amid bombardment and the crippling blockade.

United Nations agencies have said truck convoys carrying aid are building up at the border and have not been allowed into the enclave, where a famine is looming.

Israeli officials claim an expanded military offensive would pressure Hamas into releasing the 59 remaining captives, but critics argue it further endangers their lives. Israel ending the fragile ceasefire, which saw Palestinian prisoners exchanged for Israeli captives, on March 18 has not led to any more releases.

The reserve call-ups are going out as Netanyahu promised to respond to Yemen’s Houthis after the rebels fired a missile that struck a road at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport, wounding six people and prompting several major airlines to suspend flights.

Netanyahu said the response will take place “at a time and place of our choosing”.

The Houthis have said their fighters carried out the assault “in support of the oppressed Palestinian people” and to counter Israel’s “crime of genocide” in Gaza.

More than 3,500 children below the age of five years “face imminent death by starvation”, Gaza’s Government Media Office (GMO) has said, adding that some 70,000 children are being hospitalised in the enclave due to severe malnutrition amid more than two months of total Israeli blockade.

“Under this systematic blockade, more than 3,500 children under the age of five face imminent death by starvation, while approximately 290,000 children are on the brink of death,” the GMO statement on Telegram said on Sunday.

“At a time when 1.1 million children daily lack the minimum nutritional requirements for survival, this crime is being perpetrated by the ‘Israeli’ occupation using starvation as a weapon, amid shameful international silence,” it added.

At least 57 Palestinians have starved to death, causing global outrage, but that has failed to convince Israel to allow entry of aid into the enclave of 2.3 million people.

A shortage of food and supplies has driven the territory towards starvation, according to aid agencies. Supplies to treat and prevent malnutrition are depleted and quickly running out as documented cases of malnutrition rise.

The price of what little food is still available in the market is unaffordable for most in Gaza, where the United Nations says more than 80 percent of the population relies on aid.

Aid groups and rights campaigners have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.

Israel, for its part, insists the blockade is necessary to pressure Hamas to release the captives it still holds. Of the 59 captives still in Gaza, 24 are believed to be alive.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 52,495 Palestinians and wounded 118,366, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The GMO updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.