First aid boat unloads in Gaza as Hamas proposes new truce
The Hindu
A first aid ship plying a new maritime corridor from Cyprus began unloading its cargo of desperately needed food in Gaza
A first aid ship plying a new maritime corridor from Cyprus began unloading its cargo of desperately needed food in Gaza on March 15 as Hamas proposed a new six-week truce in the war.
AFP footage showed the Open Arms, which set sail from Cyprus on Tuesday, towing a barge that the Spanish charity operating it says is loaded with 200 tonnes of food for Gazans threatened with famine after more than five months of war.
"World Central Kitchen is unloading the barge connected now to the jetty," said Linda Roth, a spokesperson for the U.S. charity that is working with Open Arms.
The Israeli military said it had deployed troops to "secure the area" around the jetty. The "vessel underwent a comprehensive security inspection," it added.
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 149 people had been killed in the past 24 hours.
Witnesses reported air strikes and fighting in the southern Gaza Strip's main city Khan Yunis as well as areas of the north where humanitarian conditions have been particularly dire.
As Muslim worshippers marked the first Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, thousands attended prayers in the revered Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, amid a heavy Israeli security presence and restrictions on entry.













