The Cambodian-flagged Irish MV Rachel Corrie was part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that sailed to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid in 2010. The ship was unable to join the other six ships in the flotilla because of mechanical problems that forced it to undergo repairs in Malta. The other six ships were confronted by a raid on 31 May 2010 during which nine activists were killed by Israeli naval forces. The aid-carrying vessel got under way on 31 May 2010, with its crew insisting that they would go to Gaza. The governments of Israel and Ireland reached an agreement to unload the ship's cargo in the southern Israeli port city of Ashdod, but the group sponsoring the ship rejected the proposal. Israeli commandos boarded the ship from speedboats at around noon on 5 June 2010, in international waters about 30 kilometers from Gaza. The Israeli commandos seized control, and the ship and its passengers were diverted towards Israel, away from its original course. After an inspection, Israel delivered the entire cargo to Gaza, including cement, which is usually banned. Background The vessel is a former merchant ship owned and operated by the Free Gaza Movement. It was partially funded by the Perdana Global Peace Organisation, a Malaysian NGO headed by former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. The ship is Irish-owned, and had the former Assistant UN Secretary-General Denis Halliday and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire on board. Halliday said that the ship would stop only when Israelis forced the ship to do so. Passengers aboard the Rachel Corrie said that the purpose of their journey was to bring both humanitarian aid to the Gazan population and public attention to the Egypt-Israel blockade of the Gaza region; a blockade criticised by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for imposing "abject poverty" on 350,000 Gazans. Israel says the blockade of Gaza is needed to prevent the infiltration of weapons and militants into the coastal territory run by Hamas, which they and much of the international community have designated a terrorist organization. Israel has also called the campaign a "provocation intended to delegitimise Israel". Cargo The ship was carrying humanitarian supplies, including 550 tons of cement intended to rebuild schools, homes and other building destroyed in Gaza, as well as 20 tons of paper, 100 tons of high-end medical equipment (including a CT scanner), fabric and thread, and educational supplies.