Netanyahu ordered drone attacks on Gaza-bound humanitarian aid boats off Tunisia, sources say

Washington — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly approved military operations on two vessels early last month that were part of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian supporters, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, CBS News has learned.  

Two American intelligence officials briefed on the matter told CBS News that Israeli forces on Sept. 8 and 9 launched drones from a submarine and dropped incendiary devices onto the boats that were moored outside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said, causing a fire. The officials spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on national security matters. 

Under international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict, the use of incendiary weapons against a civilian population or civilian objects is prohibited in all circumstances. 

Israel has enforced a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip for more than a decade, first declaring the restriction in January 2009, when its navy announced the closure of the coastal waters to all maritime traffic. The move came some two years after Hamas took control of the region following a brief but violent civil war with the rival Fatah party, the political and military organization of Arab Palestinians, officially known as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement.