Radio jammed with ABBA music on Greta Thunberg’s flotilla to Gaza

Greta Thunberg and others aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla were not saying “Thank You for the Music” when their radio was hacked and played ABBA music while they were trying to sail to Gaza to deliver aid.

The flotilla is a collection of vessels that carry over 500 activists from several countries and aid to be delivered to Palestinians in Gaza. It set sail from Spain on Sept. 1.

“They’re jamming our radio,” Yasemin Acar, a member of the GSF, said in a video posted on social media earlier this week. Abba’s “Lay All Your Love On Me” could be heard playing in the background.

“We don’t know where this is coming from, the sound, but other vessels are experiencing the same thing,” she said.

The ships were sailing near Greece early Wednesday, according to the tracker on the website. The group said Israeli drones were also surrounding some of the ships, and there were explosions.

“In the final days before reaching Gaza, the Global Sumud Flotilla is experiencing an alarmingly dangerous escalation, with multiple boats reporting targeted explosions and unidentified objects being dropped on and near the boats, causing significant damage and widespread obstruction in communications,” the group said in a statement Tuesday.

“This comes on top of a sustained campaign of intimidation and disinformation by Israel, aimed at discrediting and endangering the 500+ unarmed civilians aboard the flotilla who are attempting to deliver food and medical supplies to Gaza to help end Israel’s illegal blockade,” the group wrote.

They said at least 13 explosions were heard around the boats.

Ms. Thunberg has slammed the attacks as a “scare tactic,” and vowed the mission would continue.

The 22-year-old activist has reportedly taken a step back from the group’s leadership, moving from the flagship vessel to a different one. Italian newspaper Il Manifesto reported that disagreements lie over communication that focuses too much on the internal affairs and not on the issue in Gaza.

“We all have a role: mine will not be on the board, but as an organizer and participant,” she told Il Manifesto.

Some speculate that ABBA was chosen because the group, like Ms. Thunberg, hails from Sweden.

Ms. Acar told NBC News that the water “felt like a battlefield.”

“There were bombs after bombs … and no one came to help,” she said.

She said the crew couldn’t reach the Coast Guard due to the music coming through their communication system.

“It was horrific that this can happen in international waters, close to Greece. I mean, in Europe,” she said.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has criticized the flotilla, saying it’s linked to Hamas, but the group says it’s part of the smear campaign and they’re just trying to bring aid.

Italy condemned the attack on the ships and sent navy patrol boats to help with the mission. Spain said it would also send ships.

Italy’s Foreign Ministry said it was hit with a “mail bombing” campaign of a flood of fake emails after the flotilla was attacked.

• This story is based in part on wire service reports.