Open Arms, the first Gaza-bound food shipment, was seen off the territory’s coast on Friday loaded with 200 tons of food for Gazans besieged after more than five months of war.
The Hamas-ruled health ministry said Israeli fire killed 20 people waiting to receive aid, a charge that Israel rejects, stating “armed Palestinians” shot at civilians.
Witnesses and officials from both Israel and Hamas reported air strikes and fighting in Khan Yunis, the main city in south Gaza, and in areas of the north where humanitarian conditions have been especially poor.
Palestinians were gathering at al-Aqsa mosque on Friday during Ramadan, waiting to pass Israeli checkpoints.
Thousands of police have been deployed across Jerusalem’s Old City in east Jerusalem for mass prayers.
Hamas has responded to the latest ceasefire deal proposal and stressed a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and increased aid flow.
A source informed AFP that Hamas has demonstrated flexibility in talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of blocking a deal.
Netanyahu said Hamas was sticking to “unacceptable demands” after senior US officials urged the Palestinian group to accept a truce.
US Senate leader Chuck Schumer said Netanyahu was one of several “major obstacles” to peace amid increasing criticism of Netanyahu from the United States.
The UN has warned of famine, with only a small number of supplies required to sustain Gaza’s population of 2.4 million people allowed inside.
Relatively few aid trucks enter by road, which humanitarians blame on restrictions from Israel, and efforts have increased to provide relief by air and sea.
Cyprus, the source of a maritime corridor, has said a second vessel is being prepared to make the same journey after Open Arms, a Spanish charity, completes its mission.
One Palestinian informed AFP that his children were reduced to eating wild plants.
Land deliveries are more effective than sea missions and airdrops, according to Amnesty International and Oxfam.
Israel has accused some staff from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinians and the main aid organization of Gaza, of involvement in the October 7 attack. Several donor nations have ceased support for the agency.
Australia resumed funding on Friday after determining in an investigation that UNRWA was not a terrorist organization.
Witnesses said clashes occurred overnight in Khan Yunis, where the Israeli military said its troops continue to operate.
Dozens of air strikes were reported across Gaza, according to the Hamas government media office.
Gaza’s health ministry said Israeli troops opened fire from tanks and helicopters as Palestinians gathered at a roundabout in Gaza City, killing 20 people and injuring dozens of others on Thursday.
The director of emergency services at a local hospital informed AFP there were “direct shots by the occupation forces” on people waiting for a food truck, and an AFP journalist witnessed people being shot.
The Israeli army has denied the allegations and said “armed Palestinians” shot at Gazan civilians awaiting the aid convoy.
Netanyahu has rejected international pressure and has vowed to “bring complete victory to the people of Israel” and initiate a ground assault on Rafah, where about 1.5 million mostly displaced Palestinians have sought shelter.
An Israeli group representing the families of hostages has continued to pressure Netanyahu to free them.
