Sawt Falasteen - Aid ship bound for Gaza as reported malnutrition deaths rise

In a sign of worsening humanitarian conditions more than five months into the war, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said "the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration rose to 27", most of them children.

The Open Arms set sail from Larnaca port on the Mediterranean, towing a barge loaded with 200 tonnes of relief goods for the sea journey of about 400 kilometres (250 miles), as US charity World Central Kitchen said work was "underway" in Gaza on a jetty to unload the shipment.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called the departure "a sign of hope", vowing to "work hard together for many more ships to follow".

Cyprus said it was preparing to send a second ship.

"For aid delivery at scale there is no meaningful substitute to the many land routes and entry points from Israel into Gaza," they said.

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

The army said its forces raided 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.

- 'Famine is imminent' -

The war since Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel 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 man, Mohammad al-Masry, said this year the family had just "canned food and beans".

The war started with the October 7 Hamas attack that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli official figures.

The militants also took around 250 hostages, dozens of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes about 130 captives remain in Gaza, including 32 presumed dead.

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.

- 'We will finish the job' -

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 again vowed, despite growing international opposition, to push on with the war.

"We will destroy Hamas, free our hostages and ensure that Gaza doesn't ever pose a threat to Israel again," he said in a speech via video link to a pro-Israel lobby in the United States.

"We will finish the job in Rafah while enabling the civilian population to get out of harm's 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.

- Lebanon, Yemen violence -

The Israeli army said Tuesday 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 on Tuesday 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 said Tuesday 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.

The Huthis said the attacks were "in support of the oppressed Palestinian people" and vowed that "military operations will be escalated... during the month of Ramadan".

burs-jd/ami/dv

H.Darwish--SF-PST