Greta Thunberg and the members of her freedom flotilla have been blasted by Abba on repeat after radios on board the vessels were hijacked.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which believes the incident to be the work of an Israeli attack, were subjected to hours of relentless playing of ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’ by the Swedish pop band – in a possible nod to Ms Thunberg’s nationality.
Multiple ships in the activist’s flotilla were understood to be targeted by the attack.
“They’re jamming our radio,” Yasemin Acar, a member of the GSF, claimed in a video while Abba blasted in the background.
“We don’t know where this is coming from, the sound, but other vessels are experiencing the same thing.”
According to the group, Israeli “military drones” targeted five of the vessels on Tuesday, damaging masts and communication equipment.
The attack marks the third assault on the aid-bearing ship since the beginning of September.
The 51-boat operation set sail from Barcelona at the end of August with the mission of “breaking the illegal siege of Gaza”.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Greta Thunberg and the members of her freedom flotilla set sail in August
|REUTERS
Ms Acar claims “15 to 16 drones” were sighted while Brazilian activist Thiago Avilo posted on Instagram that the boats were being “targeted with drones throwing devices”.
Several explosions, believed to be stun grenades, were then heard in the background of his video.
“It seems designed to intimidate and keep us awake,” Mr Thiago said.
On its current course, the flotilla is just five days away from Israel’s interception zone, which lies approximately 200 miles off the coast of Gaza.
Activists claimed a ship in Greta Thunberg's Gaza-bound flotilla was 'bombed' earlier this month
|GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA
“As far as I’m aware, there has never been an intervention [of this scale] with flotilla boats in international waters so far from Israel,” the Brazilian campaigner added.
“We can only draw one sensible conclusion from the choice of Abba: that the State of Israel delights in making a mockery of international law.
“It also reveals the extent to which Israel has become accustomed to enacting rogue violence.”
In a statement, the GSF coalition said: “Multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed and explosions heard from a number of boats.
“We are witnessing these psychological operations first-hand, right now, but we will not be intimidated.”
UN Human Rights Office spokesman, Thameen Al-Kheetan, has called for a “thorough investigation” on the series of attacks on the flotilla, adding that they “must stop”.
He said: “Attacks and threats against those trying to deliver aid to and support the hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza who are suffering famine and starvation defy belief.
“There must be an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the reported attacks and harassment by drones and other objects against the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla.”
Thousands of supporters gathered at Barcelona's port to see the boats off at the end of August
|REUTERS
Thousands of supporters gathered at Barcelona's port to see off the boats when they set sail at the end of August.
Many of them were waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Free Palestine” and “It's not a war, it's a genocide”.
Addressing the crowd before the departure of the flotilla, Ms Thunberg said: “This is a mission to challenge the extremely violent, business-as-usual international system that is failing to uphold international law.”