A boat filled with food for the Palestinians living in war-torn Gaza was "ready" to leave Cyprus, according to a non-governmental organization, as hostilities between Hamas militants and the Israeli military flared ahead of Ramadan.

The maritime route seeks to counteract limitations on aid access, which, more than five months into the conflict that has left Gaza's 2.4 million residents fighting for their lives, humanitarians and international governments have charged against Israel.

Gaza truce negotiations: Hamas armed wing declares "no compromise."

As Israel accused Hamas of trying to "inflame" the region during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, hopes for a break in the conflict before the holy month of Ramadan were dwindling quickly. Ramadan might start as early as Sunday, depending on the lunar calendar.

In a Saturday interview with MSNBC, US President Joe Biden claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strategy for winning the war was "hurting Israel more than helping Israel".

Benjamin Netanyahu "has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas," Biden stated. He went on to say that "he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken".

Tragedy Strikes Gaza: Five Palestinians Crushed by Air-Dropped Aid

A famine has been frequently warned of by the UN, especially in north Gaza where there are no accessible overland border crossings.

As for Rafah, in the deep south of Gaza, "We can barely get water," Palestinian refugee Nasreen Abu Yussef remarked.

In the city, where Atallah al-Satel declared he desired an end to the conflict, some 1.5 million Palestinians had taken up residence.

"We are simply weary citizens," stated Satel, who had escaped from Khan Yunis to Rafah.

Relief Efforts to Gaza Intensify: EU to Open Sea Route for Aid Delivery

The Spanish charity Open Arms stated that although final authorization is still pending, their yacht, which moored in the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, three weeks ago, is "ready" to set sail.

The EU Commission aims to create a maritime corridor from Cyprus, the nearest EU member to Gaza, on Sunday, and this consignment would be the first through.

Speaking to AFP, Open Arms spokesperson Laura Lanuza stated that "200 tonnes of basic foodstuffs, rice, and flour, cans of tuna" were being inspected by Israeli officials.

In the beleaguered Gaza Strip, personnel from the US charity World Central Kitchen—which has worked with Open Arms—were "constructing a dock" to offload the consignment, according to Lanuza.

The "first equipment to establish a temporary pier" to accept relief off Gaza was carried by a US Army ship that departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia on Saturday, according to the US Central Command.

As announced by Biden the night before, the Pentagon warned on Friday that the construction of the makeshift pier may take up to sixty days.

Countries that have restricted land access have also resorted to airdropping supplies, however, one delivery was fatal on Friday due to a parachute malfunction.

"Just a portion of the solution"

Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, announced on Saturday that 30,960 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel's aerial and ground assault, including 82 fatalities from yesterday's attacks.

The ministry reported that at least 23 youngsters had perished from starvation and dehydration.

After the movement's onslaught on Israel on October 7, which according to Israeli government numbers resulted in around 1,160 dead, largely civilians, Israel launched its campaign to destroy Hamas.

The Israeli army said that one more soldier has died in Gaza, bringing the total number of troops lost since ground operations began to 248.

The amount of help that can be transported by sea, according to the UN World Food Programme, will probably not be able to prevent the famine in Gaza.

Palestinian Women Subjected to Torture in Israeli Prisons

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, announced on Friday in Larnaca that a "pilot operation" will be started with World Central Kitchen and backed by funding from the United Arab Emirates.

According to top US sources, the US plan for a "temporary pier" off Gaza expands upon the maritime corridor that Cyprus has suggested.

Reducing the barriers to truck entrance into Gaza, according to UN representatives and humanitarians, would be a more successful approach than sending goods by air or sea.

The amount of help that can be transported by sea, according to the UN World Food Programme, will probably not be able to prevent the famine in Gaza.

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, announced on Friday in Larnaca that a "pilot operation" will be started with World Central Kitchen and backed by funding from the United Arab Emirates.

According to top US sources, the US plan for a "temporary pier" off Gaza expands upon the maritime corridor that Cyprus has suggested.

Reducing the barriers to truck entrance into Gaza, according to UN representatives and humanitarians, would be a more successful approach than sending goods by air or sea.

More than 41,000 meals were airdropped into Gaza on Saturday, according to US military reports, and Canada has said it would also participate in aerial assistance delivery missions.

However, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric noted that a continuous supply of supplies into Gaza was "only part of the solution".

She denounced the "unacceptable" number of civilian deaths and insisted that the fighting parties need to do more to "safeguard civilian life and human dignity".

'Tough' negotiations for a ceasefire.

About 250 Israeli and international captives were taken by Gaza militants in their October onslaught; some of them were freed after a week-long ceasefire in November. Israel estimates that 31 hostages have perished and 99 captives are still alive in Gaza.

Following a week of ineffective negotiations with mediators in Cairo, the armed wing of Hamas declared that it would not consent to a prisoner-forced swap unless Israeli troops left the area.

Such a demand has been denied by Israel.

According to a statement from Netanyahu's office on Saturday, David Barnea, the head of the Mossad espionage agency, met with William Burns, the director of the CIA, on Friday "as part of the ceaseless efforts to advance another hostage release deal".

Biden possesses an AC realizing that getting a new ceasefire agreement in time for Ramadan would now be "tough".

In a statement released on Saturday, Israel charged that Hamas was "entrenching its positions like someone who is not interested in a deal and is striving to inflame the region during Ramadan".

Israel is being ready for "all possible operational scenarios" during the Muslim holy month, according to Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari.

According to the Israeli army on the ground in southern Gaza, combat was still going on near Khan Yunis. Over 30 airstrikes were recorded overnight, according to Hamas authorities on Saturday.

Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, demanded that supplies be sent to Gaza residents as soon as possible and that border crossings be fully opened in order "to end the siege of our people."

Effects of the battle are being felt throughout the area, especially off the coast of Yemen, where on Saturday the US military and its allies shot down 28 one-way attack drones fired into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by Huthi rebels backed by Iran.

End//voice7news.tv 

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