Middle East crisis live: aid ship from Cyprus to Gaza delayed as Ramadan begins with no ceasefire

Depite the makeshift living conditions forced upon them by Israel’s military assault on Gaza, some Palestinians in the south of the territory overnight were able to put up some decorations for the beginning of Ramadan.

In its latest operational update, Israel’s military has claimed that “IDF troops struck terrorist operatives who endangered the forces in the central Gaza Strip” and that “special forces are continuing to operate in the area of Hamad in Khan Younis.”

It claims to have “killed approximately 15 terrorists in the central Gaza Strip in close-quarters encounters” and that in the area of Hamad “IDF special forces conducted targeted raids on a number of residences used for terrorist activities, apprehended Hamas operatives, and located weapons, ammunition, and additional military equipment.”

Highlighting one of the risks of attempting to deliver aid via the sea without a ceasefire in place, the IDF also claims that “Israeli Naval troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip directed a helicopter that struck a vessel used by terror organisations in the area.”

The claims have not been independently verified.

An aid ship carrying 200 tonnes of food to alleviate looming famine in the Gaza Strip remained docked in Cyprus on Sunday night, despite the push for maritime aid in the face of stalling ceasefire talks and the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Cyprus government spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, told the island’s official news agency that the exact timing of the vessel’s departure would not be made public for “security reasons”. It was later reported that due to “technical difficulties”, it might not depart until Monday morning.

The delay in the departure of the aid ship highlights the complexity of delivering aid to Gaza through unconventional means. Israel has been repeatedly accused of not doing enough to facilitate humanitarian assistance to Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people. Its shallow shoreline waters and dearth of functioning ports make such maritime operations difficult, and it is unclear how much assistance via the new “sea highway” will affect the dire humanitarian situation on the ground.

After five months of war, the UN says a quarter of people in the besieged Palestinian territory are on the brink of starvation. The local health ministry said on Saturday that 23 people, including several children, had died of dehydration or malnutrition in the previous 10 days.

Read more here: Gaza food aid ship stuck at Cyprus with ‘technical difficulties’

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on Monday, some Middle Eastern nations have announced, with the king of Saudi Arabia using the occasion to call for an end to the “heinous crimes” taking place in war-torn Gaza.

Saudi Arabia said through its official SPA news agency on Sunday that the Supreme Court had announced “Monday, 11 March 2024, the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan for this year”.

Speaking as custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites, King Salman gave thanks in his Ramadan message on Sunday evening for the “blessings bestowed upon the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, but noted the war in Gaza would cast a shadow over the month of fasting and prayer.

“As we witness the arrival of Ramadan this year, our hearts are heavy with sorrow for the ongoing suffering of our Palestinian brothers facing relentless aggression,” he said.

“We call upon the international community to uphold its responsibilities to put an end to these heinous crimes and ensure the establishment of safe humanitarian and relief corridors.”

After the sighting of the crescent moon, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced a Monday start for Ramadan through their own official news outlets.

Egypt’s Islamic advisory body the Dar al-Ifta likewise confirmed Ramadan was beginning on Monday, as it was in the Palestinian Territories including Gaza, and in Algeria and Tunisia.

At a market in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where nearly 1.5 million people have sought refuge, Palestinians on Sunday bemoaned food shortages and wartime uncertainty hanging over the holy month.

“Of course, this Ramadan is completely different from all the Ramadans that have gone before it,” said Bassel Yassin, an agricultural engineer.

Hassuna Tabib Hassnan, a dentist displaced from Gaza City in the north, said he didn’t know how the month would end – “in our homes, in a tent, by the sea in the north or in the south”.

It has just gone 9am in Gaza and Tel Aviv, welcome to our latest live blog on the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East crisis. I’m Martin Belam and I’ll be with you for the next while.

A ship carrying aid for Gaza is to set sail from Cyprus “as soon as possible”, a spokesperson for one of the organisations behind the shipment said after “technical difficulties” prevented it from leaving at the weekend as planned.

The ship in Cyprus is expected to take two to three days to arrive at an undisclosed location in Gaza. The World Central Kitchen spokesperson said that construction work began on Sunday on the jetty for it.

Meanwhile a US military vessel carrying equipment for the construction of a second temporary pier in Gaza was en route to the Mediterranean, officials in Washington said, though it will be weeks before it is functional.

The opening of the sea corridor comes as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins without the much-hoped for ceasefire. Speaking as custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman said the “heinous crimes” in Gaza cast a shadow over the period.

More on that in a moment but first, here’s a summary of the latest developments:

• Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Joe Biden’s comment that his approach to the war in Gaza is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel”, escalating a dispute between the leaders. If Biden meant “that I’m pursuing private policies against the majority, the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he’s wrong on both counts”, Netanyahu said in an interview with Politico.

• Egypt was in contact with senior Hamas and Israeli figures as well as other mediators on Sunday in an effort to restart negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip during Ramadan, which begins on Monday or Tuesday, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters. Egypt’s contacts with Hamas and Israeli intelligence agency, the Mossad, on Sunday were reportedly carried out under a mandate from the Egyptian presidency in a bid to bring the two sides’ divergent positions together.

• Hamas’ top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, blamed Israel for the failure to reach a deal before Ramadan and said that the militant group is keen to resume negotiations in any framework as long as it guarantees a permanent ceasefire.

• The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said on Sunday that hunger is “everywhere” in Gaza and described the situation in the north of the enclave as “tragic”, saying that aid via land is “denied despite repeated calls”.

• The US and Jordan carried out a new airdrop of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, parachuting in more than 11,500 meals, the US military said. The American military’s central command said that the latest airdrop took place over northern Gaza and included rice, flour, pasta, and canned food.

• Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it had fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel after Israeli strikes the day before killed five people in southern Lebanon, including three of the group’s members. Hezbollah said it had launched “dozens of katyusha-type rockets” in the morning on the Israeli village of Meron, eight kilometres (five miles) from the border.

• At least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed and 72,654 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The Civil Defense Department said 10 people were killed Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on a house of the Ashour family in the Tal al-Hawa area of Gaza City.