Did Israel Try to Assassinate Greta Thunberg?
As an aid ship bound for Gaza is struck by drones in international waters, activists accuse Israel as Thunberg reveals a near-miss boarding | INVESTIGATIONS
DARK WATERS
VALLETTA, MALTA: On Friday, May 2nd, at approximately 00:23 Central European Time (CET) and 16 miles off the coast of Malta in international waters, the vessel Conscience was attacked by drones while en route to Israel and the Palestinian territories. The ship had departed from a port in Tunisia on April 29th carrying humanitarian aid and supplies intended for the Gaza Strip and arrived in the Malta area on May 1st. Due to the extent of the damage, the ship will be unable to continue on to Gaza.
According to witnesses aboard, two separate explosions tore through the ship two minutes apart, and drones of unknown origin were seen hovering in the sky nearby as the attack was underway. The attack started a fire on deck before being brought under control with assistance from a nearby tugboat responding to the Conscience’s distress call. Afterward, two large holes were visible in the deck of the ship and the ship’s generator was described as “badly damaged.”1 In a report from ABC News, former U.S. Army explosive ordinance disposal specialist Trevor Ball confirmed that the destruction appeared to be the result of a deliberate attack.
"The damage is consistent with two small blast munitions, which can be deployed by drone," Ball said. "You'd need remnants to confirm that though, well as country of origin."2
According to the AP, “as the crew radioed Malta for help, [a witness onboard] said someone impersonated them on the same channel saying help was no longer needed.”3
No injuries were reported.
Another startling component to the incident came to light when infamous climate activist Greta Thunberg shared online that she had been scheduled to board the ship the next morning when it was to dock in Malta, raising questions of whether the attack had been launched in an effort to sabotage or deliberately harm Thunberg.4
Thunberg has been a vocal anti-Zionist since the launch of the Gaza war in October 2023, and has previously been the subject of attacks from Jewish advocacy groups for her support of Palestine. She was previously labelled “Antisemite Of The Week” by the organization StopAntisemitism following her arrest on September 4, 2024, while protesting alongside the group “Students Against Occupation.”5 The group was demonstrating to pressure the University of Copenhagen into cutting ties with Israel for its conduct in the Gaza war.
An Israeli army spokesperson was also quoted as saying in 2023, “Whoever identifies with Greta in any way in the future, in my view, is a terror supporter.”6
The group responsible for organizing the ship’s expedition, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, has formally accused Israel of being behind the attack. With several Turkish nationals onboard, the Turkish Foreign Ministry responded to the news saying, “All necessary efforts will be made to reveal the details of the attack as soon as possible and to bring the perpetrators to justice.” Activists also stressed that the attack was all the more alarming as the Conscience had set sail under a complete media blackout in order to avoid retaliation or sabotage.
The Israeli government has so far not provided any comment on the bombings.
ABC news later reported that,
“Data from online flight tracker ADSBExchange shows that a military transport plane operated by Israel's military flew over Malta in the hours before the attack.
The Lockheed KC-130H plane entered Maltese airspace at around 3:25 p.m. local time. Data shows the plane flying in a zig-zag pattern around the eastern coast of Malta at an altitude as low as 4,350 feet before beginning its return to Israel at around 7:30 p.m. local time, nearly five hours before the reported attack on Conscience.”7
Additionally, at the time of the attack, the ship was flying the flag of the tiny island nation of Palau, which, according to crew members, revoked the ship’s rights to use the maritime flag shortly before the strike. Tighe Barry, one of the activists involved with the Conscience’s mission and member of the anti-war group Codepink, stated that Palau “has warm ties with Israel,” and that without a maritime flag, the ship is effectively stranded at sea: “…to get a new flag will take months, so they’re just stuck out there.”8 Neighboring countries such as Malta, Greece and Turkey have confirmed that without a valid maritime flag, the ship will be rejected from their ports and potentially seized. However, the government of Malta also stated that it is willing to assist with repairs without a valid maritime flag if certain conditions were met.9
Though so far there is no concrete evidence that Israel was involved in the attack, the circumstantial details raise important questions. Israel has attacked ships aimed at breaking the Gaza blockade before, such as in the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid.10 Israel has also been recorded previously attempting to pressure nations to revoke their maritime flags from NGO ships aimed at delivering humanitarian aid in defiance of the longstanding Israeli naval blockade of Gazan ports.11 The incident is eerily similar to the sinking of The Rainbow Warrior by French intelligence services in 1985, when agents bombed and sank a Greenpeace vessel in an effort to sabotage environmentalists protesting against French nuclear weapons testing, killing a photographer in the process.12
The investigation into the attack is still ongoing.
Associated Press. "Drones strike ship carrying aid to Gaza, organizers say, in latest confrontation over assistance." AP News, May 2, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-05-02-2025-malta-2ff92bc0e1a8f667e122892f830a72f4.
ABC News. "Activists say aid vessel bound for Gaza was struck by drone." ABC News, May 2, 2025. https://abcnews.go.com/International/activists-aid-vessel-bound-gaza-struck-drone/story?id=121410732.
AP, “Drones strike ship carrying aid to Gaza, organizers say, in latest confrontation over assistance.”
The National. "Swedish Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Condemned the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza." X, May 2, 2025. https://x.com/TheNationalNews/status/1918320866544193972.
NDTV. “Greta Thunberg Labelled ‘Antisemite of the Week’ by Jewish Advocacy Group.” NDTV.com, September 11, 2024. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/greta-thunberg-labelled-antisemite-of-the-week-by-jewish-advocacy-group-6582377.
Politico EU. "Israeli official slams Greta Thunberg after she backs Palestinians in Gaza." Politico EU, October 2024. https://www.politico.eu/article/greta-thunberg-calls-global-pro-palestinian-strike-gaza-genocide-israel-slam/.
ABC News, “Activists say aid vessel bound for Gaza was struck by drone.”
AP, “Drones strike ship carrying aid to Gaza, organizers say, in latest confrontation over assistance.”
Jewish News Syndicate. “Hamas-Linked Vessel Marooned without Flag after Alleged Drone Strikes.” JNS.org, May 4, 2025. https://www.jns.org/hamas-linked-vessel-marooned-without-flag-after-alleged-drone-strikes/
The Guardian. "Israeli Attacks on Gaza Flotilla Activists." The Guardian, May 31, 2010. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/31/israeli-attacks-gaza-flotilla-activists.
Al Jazeera. "Israeli Pressure Delayed Freedom Flotilla’s Departure for Gaza: Organisers." Al Jazeera, April 26, 2024. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/26/israeli-pressure-delayed-freedom-flotills-departure-for-gaza-organisers.
EBSCO. "French Agents Sink Rainbow Warrior." EBSCO Research Starters: History. Accessed May 4, 2025. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/french-agents-sink-rainbow-warrior.