CBS: Netanyahu Personally Ordered Drone Strikes on Gaza Sumud Flotilla
Attacks on Global Sumud Flotilla Followed by Mass Abduction of Hundreds of Activists, While U.S. Remains Complicit in Silence
Palestine, PUREWILAYAH.COM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally ordered drone strikes on humanitarian aid boats bound for Gaza off the Tunisian coast, according to a damning CBS News report released Saturday.
Citing two U.S. intelligence officials, CBS revealed that Israeli forces launched drones from a submarine and dropped incendiary devices on two ships anchored at the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said on September 8 and 9.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) — the largest civilian effort to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza — confirmed that its flagship vessel, the Alma, was struck twice by drones in Tunisian waters on September 9, sustaining fire damage to its upper deck.
The vessel, sailing under the British flag, narrowly avoided disaster as crew members managed to extinguish the flames.
Flotilla organizers condemned the assault as an orchestrated act of sabotage designed to derail a purely humanitarian mission.
“These repeat attacks come during intensified Israeli aggression on Palestinians in Gaza, and are an orchestrated attempt to distract and derail our mission,” they said, vowing to continue their campaign to break the blockade with “determination and resolve.”
Abduction of Hundreds of Activists by Israeli Forces
The attacks preceded a full-scale hijacking operation: on Thursday, the Global Sumud Flotilla reported that Israeli occupation forces intercepted the convoy’s ships in international waters, abducting more than 443 volunteers from 47 countries.
The activists were transported to Israeli detention centers, where they remain held illegally.
Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir arrived at the port of Asdod after Yom Kippur, overseeing the transfer of detainees alongside Commissioner Kobi Shabtai.
At Ketziot prison, Ben Gvir ordered flotilla participants to be treated as “terrorists,” shouting: “You are terrorists.”
He further boasted: “As promised, those who joined the flotilla are now in a security prison, receiving the same treatment as terrorists in every sense of the word.”
Mass demonstrations erupted across Arab and Western capitals condemning the Israeli abductions and demanding the immediate release of the detained humanitarian workers. Critics say Washington’s continued military and diplomatic cover for “Israel” emboldens such blatant violations of international law.
Netanyahu and Washington’s Shared Responsibility
While Netanyahu has been exposed as personally directing war crimes against a civilian aid flotilla, the silence of the U.S. administration underscores Washington’s complicity.
Instead of condemning attacks on neutral humanitarian missions, American officials have shielded Tel Aviv with vetoes at the United Nations and billions in military aid.
Observers note that the targeting of humanitarian convoys off Tunisia — a brazen violation of international waters — further cements “Israel’s” status as a rogue state acting with impunity, empowered by U.S. backing.
The Global Sumud Flotilla’s ordeal, they warn, is not just an attack on Gaza-bound aid, but an assault on the very principle of international solidarity and humanitarian law. (PW)