The almost 20 months of war has torn Gaza apart, often displacing residents multiple times and killing more than 54,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreed in January collapsed in March as Israel enforced a blockade on all humanitarian aid into the strip.

Activist Greta Thunberg said in a video released on Wednesday (June 4) the story the world needs to focus on is what she called Israel's "siege and oppression" of Gaza, rather than her voyage with a humanitarian group to deliver aid to the enclave.

The IDF is prepared for the arrival of the protest flotilla called the "Freedom Flotilla". It will take control of the vessel and deport protestors if necessary.

Israel says it has recovered the bodies of two hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip

Israeli Americans Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, and her husband Gadi, 72, were killed during the 7 October 2023 attacks.