The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is demanding accountability from Israel for violations of international law. The group says Israel is enforcing a blockade and has bombed their civilian aid vessel.

The FFC stated that their aid ship, attempting to break the blockade and bring in supplies for Gaza, was hit by drone strikes while sailing in international waters near Malta.

On Friday, they released a statement saying that the ship was located just 14 nautical miles (25 km) off Malta when two drones struck it. The ship was on a mission to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, where people are struggling to survive after Israel’s two-month total blockade.

The group said, “Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull.”

The FFC did not directly accuse Israel of launching the attack.

However, they demanded action, stating, “Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters.”

Israel has not issued any public comment about the drone strikes.

Nicole Jenes of the FFC told Al Jazeera that the attack on the Conscience at 12.23pm local time (10:23 GMT) on Friday morning blew a hole in the vessel and set the engine ablaze.

The strike forced the 30 Turkish and Azeri activists onboard into a frantic effort to bail out water and keep the ship afloat.

The group said “a vessel from Southern Cyprus” responded after they sent SOS calls.

Later on Friday, the Maltese government released a statement. It said the fire on the ship had been brought under control and that authorities were monitoring the vessel. It was unclear whether authorities had directly helped extinguish the fire or what the current condition of the activists was.

Jenes, who was in Malta, said they had lost communication with the crew onboard.

“They were hiding in the night in the rooms of the ship because they were afraid of the drones … We lost contact with them,” she said.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, formed by peace activists from several countries last year, has been using a converted trawler in an effort to defy Israel’s blockade on Gaza.

Israel halted humanitarian aid two months ago, shortly before it broke a ceasefire and resumed its war against Hamas, which devastated Gaza and killed more than 50,000 people.

“It’s very important to … understand this attack is an extension of the genocide that is happening in Gaza and cannot pass unpunished,” Jenes said, insisting that the FFC is asking the world to turn its eyes to the blockade.

On Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) released a report warning that the humanitarian response in Gaza is “on the verge of total collapse.”

“Six weeks of intense hostilities, combined with a complete blockage of aid for two months, have left civilians without the essentials they need to survive. Without an immediate resumption of aid deliveries, [they] will not have access to the food, medicines, and life-saving supplies needed to sustain many of its programmes in Gaza,” the ICRC said.