Netanyahu ordered drone strike targeting Gaza flotilla, says report

A drone attack targeting the Gaza flotilla last month was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an investigation has revealed.

CBS news cited a number of American intelligence officials who confirmed that the attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla in Tunisia on 8 and 9 September was launched from a submarine by Israel.

The officials, speaking anonymously to the outlet, said the attack was a "deliberate and unnecessary provocation" that coincided with attempts by US President Donald Trump to end the war on Gaza.

The report dismisses suggestions by pro-Israel commentators that the fires on board the flotilla came from misuse of a flare gun by the activists.

In a statement on Friday, the flotilla said they had suspected Israel was responsible for the attack, which caused no casualties.

"Confirmation of Israeli involvement would not surprise us; it would simply lay bare a pattern of arrogance and impunity so grotesque that it cannot escape eventual reckoning," they said.

"Whether the purpose of these attacks was to kill us, scare us away or disable our boats, they recklessly endangered civilians and humanitarian volunteers. The world must take note: attempts to silence, intimidate or obstruct our commitment to the Palestinian cause and people will not succeed. We call for urgent, independent investigations into these attacks and full accountability for those responsible."

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