Israel-Hamas War Rages In Besieged Gaza On Ramadan Eve

Deadly fighting raged in Gaza on Sunday between Israeli forces and Hamas operatives, with no truce in sight on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as a dire humanitarian crisis gripped the besieged Palestinian territory.

A Spanish charity ship with food aid prepared to sail from Cyprus to the coastal Gaza Strip, where the UN has repeatedly warned of famine.

Aid groups say only a fraction of the supplies required to meet basic humanitarian needs have been allowed into Gaza since October when Israel placed Gaza under near-total siege.

About 370 kilometres (230 miles) from Cyprus across the Mediterranean Sea, Mohammed Harara stood on the shores of Gaza, hoping for the aid to arrive.

“I’ve been waiting since this morning, because tomorrow is the start of the holy month of Ramadan and the situation is very tragic,” he said.

The non-governmental group Open Arms said its boat would pull a barge with 200 tonnes of food, which its partner the US charity World Central Kitchen would then unload on Gaza’s shores.

It was expected to depart “within the coming hours”, Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis told Cyprus News Agency.

Jordanian, United States, French, Belgian and Egyptian planes parachuted aid over northern Gaza on Sunday, but the United Nation’s aid coordinator for the area has said more supply by land is the best way to get assistance to the territory’s 2.4 million people.