TEHRAN – Iran has denounced Israel’s “blatant crime” in conducting a drone attack on a Gaza-bound ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists off the coast of Malta in international waters. 
In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the drone attack “is a blatant crime against the people of Palestine and a terrorist act against maritime security and safety.”
A vessel belonging to the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, the Conscience, came under attack by an Israeli drone strike in international waters near Malta, while it was attempting to bring humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory. The attack caused an explosion and fire.
The Maltese government said the fire had been brought under control, adding that 16 people were on board. But the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said 30 people were aboard the vessel when it came under attack, adding that the targeted ship sent a distress signal.
Baghaei said the attack was part of the genocidal and colonial plan against the Palestinian people to ensure the continuation of the food and medical blockade on the innocent people of Gaza. 
The Israeli regime continues its genocide in Gaza by dropping bombs and imposing famine on the strip, he said.
“Depriving the wounded, sick, and mourning children and women in Gaza of food, water, and medicine is a clear example of a war crime and a crime against humanity,” the spokesman emphasized.
The blockade also constitutes a breach of the principles of international humanitarian law, he added.
He said the United States and other supporters of the Israeli regime are complicit in this crime.
Baghaei expressed Iran’s sympathy with the oppressed Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Iran calls on the international community and Muslim countries to firmly condemn Israel’s attack, prepare the ground for putting an end to impunity of the regime’s officials, and prosecute and punish them, he said.
Baghaei separately said the Israeli regime’s systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists has been enabled by the unwavering support of its Western backers, particularly the United States. 
On World Press Freedom Day, Baghaei hailed “the courage of those journalists, photographers and videographers who, over the past two years, risked their lives to expose the brutality of colonial genocide of Palestinians.”
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