Greta Thunberg and fellow activists say their humanitarian mission to Gaza was disrupted by a bizarre psychological attack — their ship radios hijacked to blast ABBA songs on repeat — as drones and explosions rocked the waters near their flotilla overnight Thursday.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), a coalition of 10 vessels that departed Spain on September 1, accused hostile forces of trying to intimidate them with electronic warfare and aerial strikes as they sailed near Greece. Activists reported seeing “at least 13 explosions” in the area while their communications were jammed.
Footage posted by activist Yasemin Acar captured the hacked transmissions, with ABBA music overtaking the flotilla’s radio channels — a swipe at Thunberg, who, like the Swedish pop icons, hails from Sweden. “We are witnessing these psychological operations first-hand, right now, but we will not be intimidated,” the GSF said in a statement.
Thunberg condemned the alleged drone strikes as an effort to scare the activists. “The most important thing isn’t that we were hit by drones,” she said. “Drones are something that Palestinians experience 24-7.” The flotilla includes volunteers from 44 nations aiming to challenge Israel’s naval blockade by delivering aid aboard civilian boats.
Acar described the scene as “a battlefield,” saying the flotilla was unable to call for help due to the signal jamming. “It was horrific that this can happen in international waters, close to Greece. I mean, in Europe,” she told NBC News. “There were bombs after bombs … and no one came to help.”
Greece’s Coast Guard confirmed it received no distress signals from the vessels.
Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto denounced the attacks, and Italian and Spanish naval ships were dispatched to assist the flotilla. Meanwhile, Italy’s Foreign Ministry reported its servers were targeted by a “mail bombing” cyberattack during the incident, flooding systems with thousands of fake emails. The ministry noted that 58 Italian nationals — including members of parliament — are on board.
The GSF has previously claimed its vessels were targeted off Tunisia, though local officials denied those incidents. Israel’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the flotilla as a campaign “organized by Hamas,” an allegation strongly rejected by the activists.