In June, a yacht with 12 activists on board - including Sweden's Greta Thunberg - was intercepted by the Israeli military about 185km (115 miles) west of Gaza. That expedition, also organised by the FFC, had been aiming to deliver aid to Gaza in defiance of Israel's blockade and to highlight the humanitarian crisis there.

An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the U.

While the international community criticizes the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a middle east expert says the U.S.- and Israel-backed organization is taking the power away from Hamas.

Families say mothers Mary Sheikh al-Eid and Khadija Abu Anza were shot while seeking aid from GHF station in southern Gaza.