Gaza: Organizers of an international aid flotilla bound for Gaza plan to hold a press conference on Wednesday to address an Israeli attempt to intercept the convoy. The Global Sumud Flotilla announced that the conference will be held at 12.30 pm Gaza time (0930UTC) near the 120-nautical-mile line off Gaza's coast.

According to Anadolu Agency, the speakers at the press conference will include Lisi Proenca, a participant aboard the vessel Sirius; Thiago vila, a member of the flotilla steering committee on board the ship Alma; Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories; and Lamis J. Deek, an international lawyer and director of legal-diplomatic affairs for the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation Commission. A large warship was spotted early Wednesday near the Gaza-bound flotilla, as organizers reported a state of high alert at sea.

Contact with the Alma was temporarily lost but has since been restored, as reported by an Al Jazeera correspondent on board the flotilla. The correspondent stated that an Israeli vessel came within five feet of the Alma, jamming all of its communication systems and engine, rendering them inoperative. Participants on board the Alma reportedly threw their phones into the sea in accordance with security protocols.

The correspondent added that the Israeli vessel eventually left the area, allowing the flotilla to continue its journey toward the Gaza Strip. An official flotilla statement described the Israeli naval forces' actions as 'an intimidatory operation' against the convoy in the early morning.

The Gaza Strip has been under an 18-year Israeli siege, which was further tightened by Tel Aviv on March 2, when all border crossings were closed, blocking food, medicine, and aid, leading to famine conditions in Gaza despite aid trucks piling up at its borders. The Israeli army has killed over 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023.