First aid ship sails to Gaza as famine looms

A Spanish charity ship taking food aid to Gaza left the Mediterranean island of Cyprus yesterday in hopes of opening a maritime corridor to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. 

The Open Arms set sail towing a barge loaded with 200 tonnes of relief goods for the sea journey of about 400 kilometres (250 miles), as Cyprus said it was readying a second ship.

"The departure of the first ship is a sign of hope," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on social media platform X. "We will work hard together for many more ships to follow."

Heavy Israeli bombardment again rained down on Gaza, killing at least 80 people overnight, and dozens more were missing under the rubble, said the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

"At least 80 martyrs arrived at hospitals, the majority children, women and the elderly," it said in a statement.

The army said its forces were raiding targets across Gaza and had found "AK-47 rifles, vests and explosive devices" in a military compound in the main southern city of Khan Yunis.

The Israeli offensive war since October 7 has levelled vast parts of the coastal strip and sparked dire food shortages that have led the UN World Food Programme to warn "famine is imminent" in northern Gaza.

As the flow of aid trucks from Egypt has slowed -- a trend variously blamed on the war, the growing insecurity on the ground, and cumbersome Israeli inspections of cargo -- Western and Arab governments have stepped up daily airdrops.

However UN and other relief agencies warn that parachuting in aid parcels is less effective and falls far short of the hundreds of truckloads needed every day to sustain the population of 2.4 million people.

The humanitarian crisis has gripped Gaza at a time Muslims have since Monday observed the month of Ramadan, where daytime fasts are traditionally broken with lavish evening iftar meals with family and friends.

In Gaza's southern city of Rafah -- now home to nearly 1.5 million people, many of whom have sought refuge in crowded shelters and makeshift tents -- one woman,

Umm Muhammad Abu Matar from Khan Yunis, told AFP that this year, Ramadan has "the taste of blood and misery".

Since October 7, Israel's retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive have killed 31,184 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry.

Weeks of talks involving US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators failed to bring about a truce and hostage exchange deal ahead of Ramadan.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said that, although talks between the parties continued, "we are not near a deal".

Hamas has demanded a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a demand labelled "delusional" by Israel, which accuses the group of seeking to stoke unrest during Ramadan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed, despite growing international opposition, to push on with the war.

In an interview with Fox News, he doubled down on his plan to send troops into Rafah near the Egyptian border, the last area so far spared ground operations.

"We can't leave a quarter of the Hamas terror army in place, they're there in Rafah," the right-wing premier said, adding that "it's either Israel or Hamas, there's no middle way".

The worst ever Gaza war, now in its sixth month, has stoked anger and protests worldwide, most of them against Israel.

It has also sparked clashes involving Iran-backed armed groups in the region, including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Huthi rebels.

The Israeli army yesterday said it had hit around 4,500 Hezbollah targets over the past five months in Lebanon and Syria, killing 300 fighters of the group and wounding more than 750.

New strikes yesterday on eastern Lebanon, far from the border, killed two people, Lebanese sources said, after Hezbollah said it had launched "more than 100" rockets at Israeli military positions.

Yemen's Huthis have been attacking ships on the key Red Sea trade route leading towards the Suez Canal, in professed solidarity with the Palestinians, forcing many vessels to make the costlier journey around Africa.

US forces yesterday said they had destroyed nearly 20 ballistic missiles and an underwater drone after the Huthis had fired two missiles, without causing casualties or damage, towards a merchant ship. 

• Death toll in Gaza rises to 31,184
• UN says sea, air drops can't replace overland aid delivery 
• US hits targets in Yemen as Huthis vow to step up Red Sea attacks