Belfast man 'risking life' on Gaza aid flotilla

Fra Hughes from Ardoyne in north Belfast is one of 20 Irish citizens on board the Gaza aid flotilla

A Belfast man on board an aid flotilla which is trying to reach Gaza said volunteers are "risking their life and their liberty" to take part in the mission.

Fra Hughes is among about 350 activists who are attempting to breach Israel's naval blockade of Gaza to deliver food and medical aid to starving Palestinians.

He spoke to the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme days after the flotilla came under attack by drones which dropped unidentified objects onto some boats.

Israel has not commented on the drone attack but earlier this week, its foreign ministry said its forces would "not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade".

Mr Hughes, from Ardoyne in north Belfast, is one of 20 people from the island of Ireland on board the international Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF).

It is manned by civilians, including the Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg, and a number of international politicians.

"There's 55 ships in the flotilla," Mr Hughes said.

"Every ship has a component of medical aid and food aid to be distributed in Gaza, if we're allowed to get there."

The flotilla set sail from Spain at the start of this month with a stated mission to "break Israel's illegal siege on Gaza".

The activists claim the blockade constitutes "a violation of the Geneva Conventions" and insist their aid mission is "legal under international law".

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg (right) is among those on board the flotilla

'We're trying to create a maritime lifeline'

On Tuesday, a number of their boats reported seeing drones overhead, followed by several "flashbangs" and unidentified objects being dropped from the air.

In a statement GSF said at least 13 explosions were heard on and around boats, which raised "urgent concerns for the safety of participants".

It happened outside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said, and followed other suspected drone attacks earlier this month.

Mr Hughes is on board the Alma boat, which has been described as one of the "motherships" involved in refuelling the flotilla.

Earlier this week, "more than 15 low-altitude drones" hovered above the Alma over a 24-hour period, according to the GSF.

Italy and Spain have since deployed naval vessels to protect the flotilla, as both countries have several citizens on board.

When he spoke to BBC NEWS NI on Friday, Mr Hughes said the Alma was off the coast of Crete and had received some support from Greece.

"We have a Greek military naval escort. We expect to be in Gaza - or intercepted - in the next four or five days," he explained.

"We're trying to create a maritime lifeline to Gaza and we insist on being protected."

However, several earlier flotilla to Gaza have failed to reach their destination and Mr Hughes expressed concern about being "hijacked in the Mediterranean".

Global Sumud Flotilla shared footage of some of the alleged drone strikes on Instagram earlier this week

Israel's foreign ministry has claimed that the flotilla has been "organised by Hamas".

"If the flotilla participants' genuine wish is to deliver humanitarian aid rather than serve Hamas, Israel calls on the vessels to dock at the Ashkelon Marina and unload the aid there, from where it will be transferred promptly in a co-ordinated manner to the Gaza Strip," it said in a statement on Monday.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the drone attack and deployed a naval frigate to protect the aid convoy.

However, she also also criticised the GSF's mission as "dangerous and irresponsible" and claimed it was unnecessary for the activists to enter a war zone.

Her country proposed that the aid could be left in Cyprus and delivered to Gaza by a Catholic organisation which is active in both Israel and Palestine.

But the flotilla and Mr Hughes have rejected that plan.

"Look at how many trucks have been refused entry into Gaza since March 2025," he said.

"If they simply allowed the trucks in that are at the border, we wouldn't need a maritime lifeline.

"People wouldn't be risking their life and their liberty in order to bring solidarity and support to the people of Palestine," Mr Hughes added.

Some of the Irish crew members on board the flotilla posed for a group photo earlier this month

There were more than 40 Irish citizens in the flotilla when it set off but, after some boats suffered storm damage and other problems, the number now stands at 20.

Irish participants on board have included the Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews; Cork comedian Tadhg Hickey; Dublin author Naoise Dolan; Galway poet Sarah Clancy; Cork trade unionist Donna Schwarz, and Maureen Almai, a nurse from County Clare.

Genocide claim

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 65,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.

At the start of this month, the world's leading association of genocide scholars declared Israel's actions in Gaza had met the UN's legal definition of genocide.

Israel denied it was committing genocide and rejected the resolution passed by the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) as based on "Hamas lies".