Palestinians prepared for Ramadan in sombre mood with heightened security measures by Israeli police and the spectre of war and hunger in Gaza overshadowing the normally festive Muslim holy month after talks to secure a ceasefire stalled. The US Army has dispatched a ship to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday, days after President Joe Biden vowed to build a temporary pier to supply the besieged enclave. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
This blog is no longer being updated. For more coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, please click here.
Summary
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A US military ship laden with humanitarian aid set sail from Virginia to Gaza, Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday. The General Frank S. Besson also has logistics to "carry the first equipment" to build a temporary port to deliver supplies to Gaza.
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The new push for aid came as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was set to begin Monday in much of the world after officials in Saudi Arabia saw the crescent moon on Sunday. Hopes for a new ceasefire by Ramadan faded this week as truce talks in Cairo apparently stalled.
- At least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed and 72,654 wounded since Israel started its offensive on Gaza, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run enclave. Around 1,140 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.
Yesterday's key developments:
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A boat laden with food for Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza was "ready" to set sail from Cyprus, an NGO said Saturday, as fighting raged between Israeli troops and Hamas militants ahead of Ramadan.
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Israel on Saturday struck one of the largest residential towers in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to residents. Preliminary reports said there were several injuries in the attack on Rafah's Burj al-Masri building.
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The US and its allies said they shot down 28 drones fired by Yemen's Houthis at targets in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on Saturday, in one of the Iran-backed rebels' largest attacks.
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Sweden said Saturday it was resuming aid to UN agency for Palestinian refugees with an initial disbursement of $20 million after receiving assurances of extra checks on its spending and personnel. It is one of several countries that suspended aid to UNRWA in January after Israel accused 12 of its employees of involvement in Hamas’s October 7 attacks.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.
The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
