DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip -- A U.S. Army vessel carrying equipment to build a temporary pier in Gaza was heading to the Mediterranean on Sunday, after U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to increase aid deliveries by sea to the besieged enclave where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are going hungry.
The new push for aid came as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was set to begin today in much of the world. Hopes for a new cease-fire by Ramadan faded days ago with negotiations apparently stalled.
The opening of the sea corridor, along with airdrops by the U.S., Jordan and others, reflected growing alarm over Gaza's deadly humanitarian crisis and a new willingness to bypass Israeli control over land shipments. But aid officials say air and sea deliveries can't make up for a shortage of land routes. Aid trucks entering Gaza daily are far below the 500 entering before the war.
A ship belonging to the Spanish aid group Open Arms and carrying 200 tons of food aid was expected to make a pilot voyage to Gaza from nearby Cyprus "as soon as possible," but not Sunday, said Linda Roth, a spokesperson for partner organization World Central Kitchen. There was no explanation after Cyprus' president had said it would leave then.
Israel says it welcomes the sea deliveries and would inspect Gaza-bound cargo before it leaves Cyprus. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reviewed preparatory work off Gaza's coast on Sunday.
Biden has stepped up public criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he believes Netanyahu is "hurting Israel more than helping Israel" in his approach to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, now in its sixth month.
Speaking Saturday to MSNBC, the U.S. president expressed support for Israel's right to pursue Hamas after the militants' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, but Biden said Netanyahu "must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost." He added that "you cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead."
The Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. The ministry doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and its figures from previous wars have largely matched those of U.N. and independent experts.
Palestinian casualties continued to rise. 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. Dust-covered bodies were placed on blankets.
Elsewhere, the bodies of 15 people, including women and children, were taken to the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah, according to an Associated Press journalist. Relatives said they were killed by Israeli artillery fire toward a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in the coastal area near the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israel rarely comments on specific incidents during the war. It maintains that Hamas is responsible for civilian casualties because the militant group operates from within civilian areas.
Meanwhile, U.S. efforts began to set up the temporary pier in Gaza for sea deliveries. U.S. Central Command said a first U.S. Army vessel, the General Frank S. Besson, left a base in Virginia on Saturday and was on its way to the eastern Mediterranean with equipment for construction.
U.S. officials said it would likely be weeks before the pier is operational.
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 construction work began Sunday on the jetty for it.
A member of the charity said on X, formerly Twitter, that once the ship's barge reaches Gaza, aid would be offloaded by a crane, placed on trucks and driven to northern Gaza, which has been largely cut off from aid shipments and was the first focus of Israel's military offensive.
The U.S. and regional mediators Egypt and Qatar had hoped to have a six-week cease-fire in place by Ramadan.
In a speech broadcast Sunday, Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh blamed Israel for the failure to reach a deal before Ramadan and said the militant group is keen to resume negotiations in any framework as long as it guarantees a permanent cease-fire.
Information for this article was contributed by Menelaos Hadjicostis of The Associated Press.
Parachutes drop supplies into the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel , Sunday, March 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Port staffers prepare the aid on a platform near to the docked ship belonging to the Open Arms aid group, as it prepares to ferry some 200 tonnes of rice and flour directly to Gaza, at the port in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Sunday, March 10, 2024. The European Commission president said Friday the Open Arms ship will make a pilot voyage as international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory that is facing widespread hunger after five months of war. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
An Israeli soldier on top a tank on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, March 10, 2024. The army is battling Palestinian militants across Gaza in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Smoke rises in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, March 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
In this photo provided by U.S. military's Central Command, U.S. Army Vessel (USAV) General Frank S. Besson (LSV-1) from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departs Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., Saturday, March 9, 2024, en route to the Eastern Mediterranean less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea. (U.S. Central Command via AP)
In this photo provided by U.S. military's Central Command, U.S. Army Vessel (USAV) General Frank S. Besson (LSV-1) from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, prepare to departs Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., Saturday, March 9, 2024, en route to the Eastern Mediterranean less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea. (U.S. Central Command via AP)
Parachutes drop supplies into the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel , Sunday, March 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Aid packages are seen left, on a platform near to the docked ship belonging to the Open Arms aid group, as it prepares to ferry some 200 tonnes of rice and flour directly to Gaza, at the port in Larnaca, Cyprus, Sunday, March 10, 2024. The European Commission president said Friday the Open Arms ship will make a pilot voyage as international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory that is facing widespread hunger after five months of war. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Muslims walk next to the Dome of Rock Mosque at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 10, 2024. Officials in Saudi Arabia have declared the start of the fasting month of Ramadan after sighting the crescent moon Sunday night. The announcement marks the beginning of Ramadan for many of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)