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Ships leave Cypriot port to deliver food aid to Gaza
Three ships have left a port in Cyprus to deliver 400 tons of food and other supplies to Gaza as concerns grow about hunger in the Palestinian territory.
World Central Kitchen said the vessels and a barge are carrying ready-to-eat items like rice, pasta, flour, legumes, canned vegetables and proteins.
The charity said that is enough to prepare more than 1 million meals.
It also has a shipment of dates provided by the United Arab Emirates. Dates are traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
An Open Arms ship inaugurated the direct sea route to Gaza earlier this month with 200 tons of food, water and other aid.
The United Nations and partners have warned that famine could occur in devastated, largely isolated northern Gaza as early as this month.
Humanitarian officials say deliveries by sea and air are not enough and that Israel must allow far more aid by road.
The top UN court has ordered Israel to open more land crossings and take other measures to address the humanitarian crisis.
The war began after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others hostage.
More than 400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank or east Jerusalem since October 7, according to local health authorities.
Dr Fawaz Hamad, director of Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, told local station Awda TV that Israeli forces killed a 13-year-old boy in nearby Qabatiya early on Saturday. Israel’s military said the incident was under review.
Air strikes and Israel’s ground offensive have left 32,705 Palestinians dead, local health authorities said on Saturday, with 82 killed in the past 24 hours.
Gaza’s Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its toll but has said the majority of those killed have been women and children.
Israel says over one-third of the dead are militants although it has not provided evidence to support that, and it blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group operates in residential areas.
The fighting has displaced over 80% of Gaza’s population and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine, the UN and international aid agencies say.
Israel’s military said it continued to strike dozens of targets in Gaza, days after the United Nations Security Council issued its first demand for a ceasefire.
Israel has said that after the war it will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with Palestinians who are not affiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas but is unclear who in Gaza would be willing to take on such a role.
Published: by Radio NewsHub