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.

The new mission includes the renowned Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who speaks with Democracy Now! live from the Madleen. AMY GOODMAN: As Gaza faces more than three months of a near-total Israeli blockade,

Greta Thunberg and 11 other activists aboard the Madleen, a ship carrying aid to Gaza, have reached Egypt’s coast. Part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the vessel departed from Sicily to challenge Israel’s blockade on Gaza.