What It’s Like on the Gaza-Bound Flotilla Attacked by Drones
The Intercept Briefing
The Intercept
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 26 September 2025
⏱️ 48 minutes
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Summary
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, drones attacked a fleet of small boats bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Global Sumud Flotilla, as it’s known, is the latest group attempting to break Israel’s siege on Gaza to deliver food and medical supplies.
This week on The Intercept Briefing, host Jordan Uhl speaks to Tommy Marcus, who goes by Quentin Quarantino on Instagram, about the convoy enduring attacks on international waters as volunteers remain resolved to continue their mission to deliver aid to Gaza.
“It's pretty jarring. I'm not going to lie. I'd love to put on this really tough, confident face and say I’m totally fearless. But I'm just a normal guy, and I'd expect and hope to live past 30,” says Marcus, who is among the roughly 500 volunteers in the convoy from 45 different countries. He adds, “There is truly no way to deter us, I suppose unless they kill us. But let's hope that doesn't happen.”
Diana Buttu, the former legal adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization and an analyst on issues related to Palestine and Israel, says Israel’s blockade of all entrances to the Gaza Strip is illegal and that “Israel's attacks on these flotillas are similarly illegal.” Uhl spoke to the Palestinian human rights lawyer about Israel escalating strikes on Gaza as the U.N. met this week and more Western countries recognize the Palestinian state — a gesture she calls hollow.
“This is an American Israeli genocide,” says Buttu. Donald Trump “could have easily ended this, but he's choosing not to.”
“Everyone joined this mission because they're so horrified by the genocide unfolding in Gaza and also the inaction of all of our governments around the world," says Marcus.
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Transcript
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| 0:35.1 | Welcome to The Intercept Briefing. |
| 0:37.3 | I'm Jordan Yule. For this episode, I really wanted to talk to my friendcept Briefing. I'm Jordan Yule. |
| 0:38.3 | For this episode, I really wanted to talk to my friend Tommy Marcus, who was on a boat headed to Gaza. |
| 0:44.3 | The boat, along with about 50 others, are part of the global Samud Flotilla. |
| 0:50.3 | The coordinated fleet of small boats are trying to break Israel's siege on Gaza to deliver food and medical supplies. |
| 0:58.5 | But as we were texting, drones attacked the convoy. |
| 1:03.3 | He said there were explosions. |
| 1:05.4 | In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the group reported on social media. |
| 1:10.3 | Quote, over the past few hours, more than 15 drones have hovered above the Alma boat |
| 1:16.6 | at low altitudes, appearing roughly every 10 minutes. |
| 1:20.6 | Under the hue of a red light, steering committee member Yasmine Aja took to her Instagram. |
... |
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