A quarter of Gaza's population is starving, according to the U.N., because they cannot find enough food or afford it at vastly inflated prices.
An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food set sail for Gaza on Tuesday in a pilot program for the opening of a sea corridor to the territory, where the five-month-old Israel-Hamas war has driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt had tried to broker a cease-fire and hostage release ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began on Sunday. But the talks stalled last week as Hamas demanded that any temporary pause in the fighting come with guarantees for ending the war. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the attack, which appeared to be in response to Israeli airstrikes deep inside Lebanon a day before. Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group have traded fire nearly every day since the war began.'Our children can't find anything to eat'
Conditions are especially dire in northern Gaza, which has suffered widespread devastation and been largely cut off by Israeli forces since October. Up to 300,000 Palestinians are believed to have remained there despite Israeli evacuation orders, with many reduced to eating animal feed in recent weeks.
The Open Arms ship is towing a barge loaded with food. Once it nears Gaza, two smaller vessels will tow the barge to a jetty being built by World Central Kitchen, which operates 65 kitchens across the territory. It plans to distribute the food in the north.Organizers said the jetty will be outside of northern Gaza but declined to provide further details.
Israel, which controls Gaza's coastline and all but one of its land crossings, says it supports efforts to deliver aid by sea and will inspect all cargo before it sets sail for Gaza.
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