Tunis

Sept. 9 (UPI) — A boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla heading to Gaza was struck by a drone, the nonviolence coalition said Tuesday.

The Portuguese-flagged Family Boat was at a port in Tunis, Tunisia, when it was struck at about 2 a.m. local time Tuesday, it said on X, stating the flotilla had been “attacked.”

“While all participants are safe, details about the attack remain limited,” it said in an official statement that followed.

Global Sumud Flotilla posted uncorroborated video of the incident shot by a nearby boat to X, showing a streaking flame hitting the deck of Family Boat.

Crew member Miguel Duarte said he saw the drone “clearly” about 13 feet above him.

“It stopped close to us and then moved slowly to the forward part of the ship and dropped what was obviously a bomb,” he said in a video published to the flotilla’s X account.

“There was a huge explosion, lots of fire, big, big flames.”

The purported bomb landed on a pile of life jackets, he said, which caught fire and had to be extinguished.

“Let me be clear: 100% it was a drone dropping a bomb on the forward deck of our ship,” he said.

The flotilla arrived in Tunis on Sunday after departing Spain a week earlier with climate justice Advocate Greta Thunberg aboard.

The Global Sumud Flotilla said it consists of about 50 boats loaded with food and aid and hundreds of activists from more than 45 countries.

Its mission is to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

“Acts of aggression aimed at intimidating and derailing our mission will not deter us,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement. “Our peaceful mission to break the siege of Gaza and stand in solidarity with its people continues with determination and resolve.”

Israel has enforced a land, sea and air blockade of Gaza since Hamas‘ takeover of the enclave in 2007. The blockade has further been tightened since the Iran-backed militia’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began to allow aid into the country in May following a three-month prohibition, but international organizations say it is not enough.

The United Nations has accused Israel of creating a manmade famine in Gaza — accusations that Israel has rejected.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, as well as former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on allegations of using starvation as a method of warfare.

According to the Palestine Ministry of Health, 387 Palestinians, including 139 children, have died of starvation in Gaza.

At least 64,455 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s war against Hamas, the ministry said.

Benfica beat Bayern Munich, but both sides progress from Group C, while minnows Auckland draw 1-1 with Boca Juniors.

Chelsea have entered the FIFA Club World Cup knockouts after beating Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 and will play their last-16 tie against Benfica, who defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 earlier in searing heat.

Chelsea eased through with a clinical 3-0 win over Esperance at Lincoln Financial Field in Group D in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

New signing Liam Delap opened his account for the club with a deftly taken finish in stoppage time at the end of the first half, just moments after Tosin Adarabioyo had headed the Blues in front.

Teenage talent Tyrique George added Chelsea’s third deep into injury time at the end of the game with a low shot that crept under Esperance goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.

Flamengo, who had already assured themselves of top spot in the section after wins over Chelsea and Esperance, wrapped up their first-round campaign with a 1-1 draw against already eliminated LAFC in Orlando.

Los Angeles forward Denis Bouanga threatened to give the MLS side an upset win in their final game of the tournament after a cool finish in the 84th minute, only for Wallace Yan to equalise for Flamengo two minutes later.

In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th minute.

The German champions, who left the likes of Harry Kane and Michael Olise on the bench at kickoff, were unable to come back in sweltering afternoon conditions in heatwave-hit North Carolina.

Kane and Olise came on at half-time, and Bayern did then look more dangerous, but Leroy Sane was denied when clean through by Benfica’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.

A draw would have allowed Bayern to top the section, but a Kimmich effort that found the net was ruled out for offside, and Trubin denied Sane again while Kane mistimed a header late on.

It was Benfica’s first-ever win in 14 competitive meetings with Bayern, and it meant they finished first and will next play Group D runners-up Chelsea in Charlotte in the last 16 on Saturday.

‘Tiny club with a huge heart’

That result meant whatever Boca did against Auckland City in Nashville would not be enough to qualify, but the Argentinian giants were still expected to do better than draw 1-1 against the tournament minnows from New Zealand.

Auckland had lost 10-0 to Bayern and 6-0 to Benfica, but this time they recovered from falling behind in the first half when goalkeeper Nathan Garrow palmed a Lautaro Di Lollo header into his own net.

Christian Gray equalised with a header in the second half to earn the sole representatives from Oceania a remarkable point.

“You can’t say we haven’t learned from the experience of being at the tournament. I’m thrilled for the players and the club; it’s wonderful. It’s something to go home with,” said City coach Paul Posa.

“We’re a tiny club with a huge heart, and that’s evident for all to see.”

The game was the fifth so far at the tournament to be suspended due to a weather warning, with play stopping for almost an hour. When the action restarted, not a drop of rain had fallen at Geodis Park.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, FIFA opened a disciplinary investigation into Pachuca’s Gustavo Cabral after allegations he made a racist comment to Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger.

The incident came towards the end of Sunday’s game between the two teams, which Real won 3-1.

CHELSEA continue their pursuit of the Club World Cup as they take on ES Tunis.

Enzo Maresca’s side are now facing a horror draw after their shock 3-1 defeat to Flamengo in which Nicolas Jackson was shown a red card – just four minutes after coming on as a sub.

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ES Tunis qualified for the CWC via the Confederations of African Football rankings, after Al Ahly won the CAF Champions League three times in the qualifying period.

They could even secure themselves a shock knockout spot with an upset win against the Blues.

A stunning win over LAFC has them level on points with Chelsea in Group D.

The Blues qualified after their Champions League win in 2021 – and for the first time in the competition, will not come up against a member of the 2021 winning squad.

Club World Cup 2025 Guide

SOME of the world’s biggest clubs are in action at this summer’s Club World Cup in the United States!

Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Man City, and Inter Miami are among the 32 teams taking part in the tournament, which runs from June 14 to July 13.

The likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Ousmane Dembele, Cole Palmer and Harry Kane are showcasing their skills to packed crowds across the US.

Watch EVERY match of the Club World Cup 2025 on DAZN

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How to watch ES Tunis vs Chelsea for FREE

• Chelsea will take on ES Tunis LIVE for FREE on the DAZN app.
• DAZN will cover the entire Club World Cup for FREE.
• Users need to register for a free account with an email address and can then live stream every match.
• The Blues clash against ES Tunis will take place on Wednesday, June 25 at 2am BST.
• SunSport will live blog all the action as it happens.

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Watch EVERY match of the Club World Cup 2025 live on DAZN

Are there still tickets available for ES Tunis vs Chelsea?

Tickets are still available for Chelsea’s clash against ES Tunis in the Club World Cup group stage.

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NASHVILLE — Youcef Belaili scored in the 70th minute as Espérance Sportive de Tunis ended LAFC‘s hopes of advancing out of group play at the FIFA Club World Cup in a 1-0 victory Friday night.

LAFC had one final chance to tie it in the 99th minute on Denis Bouanga’s right-footed shot off a penalty kick just in front, but goalkeeper Béchir Ben Säid smothered it.

LAFC has been shut out in both of its Club World Cup matches. It had two goals wiped out by offsides in the first half.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were in the crowd of 13,651 at 30,000-seat GEODIS Park on a steamy late afternoon.

After a back-and-forth pace, Belaili came through with a right-footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom left corner through goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’ legs.

ES Tunis will finish the round Tuesday night against Chelsea, with second place in Group D and a spot in the round of 16 on the line.

ATLANTA — LAFC’s first foray into the FIFA Club World Cup was competitive, but ultimately a defeat.

LAFC hung around against English powerhouse Chelsea at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and had the match still in striking distance nearly the entire way, but lost 2-0 in its first of three group stage matches.

“Chelsea won, deservingly so,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “I think we kind of clawed our way back into the game; I think we played a little better in the second half and maybe had the odd chance here or there to get the equalizer.”

The first competitive fixture between English and American clubs featured the mostly expected run of play, with Chelsea carrying most of the action and carving out nearly all of the afternoon’s clear-cut scoring opportunities. It was one-way traffic, and Chelsea broke through in the 34th minute when Pedro Neto beat LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris at his near post following a quick turn inside around defender Ryan Hollingshead.

LAFC soaked up the pressure as long as it could and defended well against continuous pressure for most of the game, a tangible positive for Cherundolo’s team to build on.

“I was quite happy with the way the team performed defensively,” he said. “I think out of the run of play we didn’t concede too much. I think we had things mostly under control, but conceded two transition goals which we didn’t look good on.”

Although it never really dictated terms, LAFC did create a few opportunities in the second half. Denis Bouanga forced a good save from Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez into a close-range save in the 57th minute, but a tight Chelsea defense held the fort long enough for Enzo Fernandez put the match away with a 79th-minute goal after taking down a Liam Delap cross and gliding it past Lloris.

“The higher up you go, the less opportunities you do get,” Cherundolo said. “You need to make sure those opportunities you do get are taken advantage of, or at least you’re making teams defend properly. I think a little bit of carelessness with the ball in the final third and the opponent’s half hurt us.”

Chelsea’s Liam Delap, right, and LAFC’s Aaron Long battle for the ball during Monday’s match.

(Mike Stewart / Associated Press)

In the big picture, this was as much a feeling out process as anything. Not just for LAFC in its first of at least three matches in this tournament, but for this tournament as a whole acting as something of a dress rehearsal for host cities before the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The crowd itself was certainly not inspiring, just 22,167 in a cavernous stadium set to host five more matches in this tournament and eight next summer. It was a stark contrast from the 80,000 who filled the Rose Bowl for yesterday’s Paris Saint-Germain-Atlético Madrid match, and at times felt more like a preseason exhibition than a major competition despite sturdy efforts from a healthy LAFC’s 3252 supporter group camped behind one goal.

“I don’t know,” Cherundolo said. “I don’t know if there’s just more fans in Los Angeles that are into this tournament than here, or if it’s the pairing tonight, there’s a lot of things I just can’t answer.”

The sample size is small, though, with the sparse Atlanta crowd coming in just the sixth of 63 total matches in the event.

“I don’t think we should be talking about this right now,” he continued. “I think we should be waiting until the end of the tournament to make a more complete summary of what was going on and opinion on it as a whole, as opposed to right now and one game.”

One injury note did come out of the match when LAFC forward Nathan Ordaz left play in the 38th minute after Chelsea captain Reese James took him down with a hard foul on the left wing. James received a yellow card, and Ordaz went into concussion protocol.

“After that happened he just wasn’t quite himself,” Cherundolo said. “We’ll hope that he has a speedy recovery. As more information comes in I can give you more, but right now I don’t have an update.”

The setback broke LAFC’s run of 10 consecutive undefeated matches in all competitions, but it will have opportunities to regroup quickly. Group play continues Friday in Nashville, Tenn., against Tunisian club Espérance Sportive de Tunis before finishing out on June 24 with a match against Brazil’s Flamengo in Orlando, Fla.