In a statement, the FFC, a grassroots international network that has been sailing against the blockade since 2010 and the organization behind the ship, said that “this mission is for the children of Gaza”.

Onboard the Handala are around 20 international members, including European parliamentarians and journalists. This mission came just weeks after Israel’s illegal attack on the Madleen, another Freedom Flotilla boat, which was violently seized in international waters.

On the same day, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, said that the military has presented the political leadership with several courses of action for the continued offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Under the plan, Zamir says the IDF will adjust its operational model on the battlefield by deploying new combat formations aimed at increasing strength, reducing vulnerabilities, and consolidating combat gains.

Also on Sunday, the Israeli military was set to begin ground operations in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip for the first time since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in October 2023.