US Envoy: Israel is Behind the Attacks on Aid Ships in Tunisia

The US special envoy to Syria, Thomas Barak, explicitly acknowledged Israel's involvement in the attacks targeting two ships belonging to the aid fleet heading to the Gaza Strip. This acknowledgment came during a television interview with "Sky News".

Barak revealed that the attacks occurred while the two ships were docked at the port of Sidi Bou Said near the Tunisian capital, indicating the use of drones in the assault. The US envoy linked these operations to statements from "Hezbollah" calling for the retention of its weapons, commenting: "Israel attacks Syria, attacks Lebanon, and attacks Tunisia; as this continues, their argument becomes stronger." He also cited in response to a question on the subject that the organization's justification is "to protect the Lebanese from Israel".

Barak's acknowledgment comes days after similar statements made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the Arab Islamic summit in Doha, where he warned that Israeli assaults could extend to several countries, including Tunisia.

In contrast, the Tunisian authorities remain officially silent regarding the details, despite local pressures demanding the disclosure of the investigation results into the incident, which they previously described as a "premeditated attack," and revealing the party that planned it and the executing and complicit parties.

It is noteworthy that the organizing committee for the "Global Resilience" fleet announced on the ninth of this month that one of its ships was attacked by an unknown drone while docked at the same port, just a day after a similar attack on another ship. Despite these attacks and delays, the fleet—which includes activists, relief workers, and doctors from 44 countries—has continued its voyage from Tunisia for over a week in an attempt to break the maritime blockade on Gaza and open a humanitarian corridor.

For its part, Israel threatened to prevent ships from entering what it described as an "active combat zone," asserting in a statement from its Foreign Ministry that it "will not allow a breach of the maritime blockade, which it considers legal." It accused the "Hamas" movement of being behind the organization of the trip, calling for the ships to be directed to Ashkelon port to transport aid through it to Gaza.