Another coalition ship on a similar mission to Gaza in 2010 was stopped and boarded by Israeli troops, and nine activists died. Other ships have similarly been stopped and boarded, without loss of life.

Four Australians are almost on board

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg told the Reuters news agency she was in Malta and had also been supposed to board the ship as part of Freedom Flotilla’s planned action.

Demands for safe passage to the ship

“We’re definitely encouraging people to be calling Maltese ambassadors and high commissions globally, and demanding that not only do they do a full investigation into the war crimes that have happened just outside their borders on the coast here, but also to demand that they enable us safe passage to the ship,” he said.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this attack on a civilian ship,” it said, noting there were “allegations that the ship was targeted by Israeli drones”.

This is ‘a war crime’

Since early March, Israel has completely cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the enclave, and food stockpiled during a ceasefire at the start of the year has all but run out, according to international aid agencies.