Mariana Mortágua has addressed the alleged attack in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, on a boat from the Global Sumud Flotilla, which departed on August 31 on a humanitarian mission to Gaza.
In an interview with SIC Notícias, the coordinator of the Left Bloc (BE) described it as a “drone attack,” noting that something similar “had previously happened with another flotilla in Malta.”
This time, the drone “carried an incendiary device that set part of the boat on fire.”
According to Mariana Mortágua, “this drone was launched precisely at a time when it was known that certain figures were not on the boat, as a strategy of intimidation.”
“Although we do not yet have any confirmation of its origins,” she emphasized.
Despite the attack, the BE deputy assured that “this mission cannot and will not be halted and will continue.” “It is a mission that involves dozens of boats, dozens of countries, and dozens of personalities, so no strategy of intimidation will prevent this humanitarian mission from continuing,” she concluded.
Before Mariana Mortágua responded to the attack, the Global Sumud Flotilla had already confirmed that “one of the main boats, known as ‘Family Boat’,” flying a Portuguese flag, and carrying members of the organization’s Steering Committee, “was hit by a drone” in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.
At the time of the fire, Mariana Mortágua was on another boat. However, Portuguese activist Miguel Duarte was aboard the vessel. No one was injured.
“The boat was sailing under a Portuguese flag, and all passengers and crew are well. An investigation is underway, and as soon as more information is available, it will be released immediately,” added the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) through various social media posts today.
The Flotilla also shared images of the “attack” on social media. See below:
The Global Sumud Flotilla confirmed that “one of the main boats, known as ‘Family Boat’,” flying a Portuguese flag, and carrying members of the organization’s Steering Committee, “was hit by a drone” in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.
Lusa | 02:13 – 09/09/2025
On Sunday, Miguel Duarte had already indicated to Lusa that the boats, which set sail on August 31 from Barcelona, Spain, were off the coast of Tunisia, planning to stop to collect more humanitarian aid and make repairs.
In addition to the activist, the flotilla includes the coordinator of the Left Bloc, Mariana Mortágua, and actress Sofia Aparício.
The activist lamented at the same time the presence of drones flying over the vessels that departed from Barcelona last week, following a report by the Global Movement to Gaza, one of the promoters of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, which aims to be “the largest humanitarian mission in history” with the Palestinian territory of Gaza, initially departed from Barcelona. ‘Sumud’ is an Arabic word meaning resilience.
Israeli forces are conducting an offensive in the Gaza Strip that has caused over 64,600 deaths in the territory governed by Hamas since 2007.
The offensive followed a Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in about 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages.
Israel, which announced an operation to take the city of Gaza, in the northern enclave, has been accused of genocide and using hunger as a weapon of war, which it denies.
The UN declared a famine situation in northern Gaza in August, marking the first such declaration in the Middle East.
Read Also: Flotilla “under Portuguese flag” attacked. See the images
