The overnight incident happened about 50km (27 nautical miles) south of Crete.<\/p>\n
Unverified CCTV video footage released by the GSF showed a man on board a yacht jumping onto the deck following what appeared to be an explosion nearby. An explosion was also visible in a second video that the GSF said was filmed from the vessel Spectre.<\/p>\n
Passengers on the boats said they requested assistance from the Greek coastguard.<\/p>\n
A coastguard source told Greece’s AMNA news agency that a Portuguese vessel from the European Union’s border agency, Frontex, was dispatched to the area but that it found no evidence of material damage to the boats.<\/p>\n
Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg, who is among the prominent pro-Palestinian activists taking part in the flotilla, called the incident a “scare tactic”.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the Israeli foreign ministry alleged that the flotilla was “organised by Hamas”, and called on its boats to unload their aid supplies at the port of Ashkelon for transfer to Gaza.<\/p>\n
“Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade,” it warned.<\/p>\n
The GSF has said its goal is to “break the illegal siege on Gaza by sea, open a humanitarian corridor, and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people”.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago, it reported that two vessels were targeted in separate drone attacks while anchored off Tunisia. Tunisian authorities said they were investigating the claims.<\/p>\n
In June, Thunberg was one of 12 people on board a Gaza-bound aid ship, the Madleen, that was intercepted by Israeli forces about 185km west of Gaza<\/a>. <\/p>\n