A boat laden with food for Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza was “ready” to set sail from Cyprus, an NGO said, as fighting raged between Israeli troops and Hamas militants ahead of Ramadan.

The sea route aims to counter aid access restrictions, which humanitarians and foreign governments have blamed on Israel, more than five months into the war which has left Gaza’s 2.4 million people struggling to survive.

Hopes were fading fast for a pause in the fighting before Ramadan, which could begin as early as Sunday depending on the lunar calendar, as Israel accused Hamas of seeking to “inflame” the region during the Muslim fasting month.

US President Joe Biden said Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the war was “hurting Israel more than helping Israel”, during an interview with MSNBC broadcast Saturday.

Netanyahu “has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas,” Biden said, but added that “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken”.

The United Nations has repeatedly warned of looming famine, particularly in north Gaza where no overland border crossings are open.

In Rafah, in Gaza’s far south, “we can barely get water,” said displaced Palestinian woman Nasreen Abu Yussef.

Roughly 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge in the city, where Atallah al-Satel said he wanted an end to the war.বিস্তারিত