The activists had set out to protest Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of aid.

Thunberg’s boat was intercepted by the IDF on its way to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s blockade in Palestine. After intercepting the Madleen, a civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid with a number of high-profile passengers on board,

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.