UNRWA – the UN agency for Palestinian refugees – has said a member of their staff has been killed and 22 others injured after Israeli forces hit a food distribution centre in Rafah.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said starvation is being used as a weapon of war in Gaza. He said the lack of aid entering the strip was a “manmade” disaster.

An aid ship has set off from a port in Cyprus taking much-needed food to Gaza. The aid ship is carrying almost 200 tonnes of food, travelling via a new sea route, to deliver aid to a population on the brink of famine. 

Gaza aid ship yet to leave Cyprus An aid ship expected to depart for Gaza…

Initial hopes for a 40-day truce, timed to coincide with the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan next week, have not materialised. International pressure to secure a ceasefire has intensified amid growing concerns about a looming famine in the region.

President Joe Biden has unveiled plans for the US military to construct a port in Gaza to get more humanitarian aid to the region by sea.