aid groups

Palestinians mourned people killed in Israeli bombardment of Rafah, the crowded southern Gaza city where Israel says it is advancing plans for a ground invasion.

Global concern has mounted over the looming operation against Hamas militants in Rafah, where much of Gaza's population has sought refuge from more than six months of war.

The Israel-Hamas war entered its 200th day on Tuesday, with fears mounting of an Israeli invasion in the overcrowded south of Gaza amid calls for hostages to be freed.

The Israeli army carried out intense shelling overnight of the Gaza neighbourhoods of Al-Tuffah, Shujaiya and Zeitun.

A ship delivered 200 tons of humanitarian supplies, food and water to Gaza on Friday, the Israeli military said, inaugurating a sea route from Cyprus for aid to help ease the humanitarian crisis brought by Israel's 5-month-old offensive in the enclave .

The first day of Ramadan came and went in Gaza, with residents marking a joyless iftar against a backdrop of famine, disease and displacement as the war in the besieged territory ground on more than five months after it began.

As the Muslim world welcomed the start of the holy month on Monday, Gazans faced continued Israeli bombardments and a spiralling humanitarian crisis.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins Monday in Gaza with no truce in sight, as fighting rages between Israeli forces and Hamas militants and a dire humanitarian crisis grips the besieged Palestinian territory.

A Spanish charity ship with food aid prepared to sail from Cyprus to the coastal Gaza Strip, where the U.N. has repeatedly warned of famine.

Türkiye has expressed its deep concerns over the new Israeli attacks targeting Rafah City and called on the international community to take necessary steps to stop them.

Hamas warned Israel on Sunday that a ground offensive in Rafah, crowded with displaced Gazans, would imperil future hostage releases, as the Hamas-run territory's health ministry said at least 52 people were killed in heavy air strikes before dawn on Monday.

The strikes hit 14 houses and three mosques in different parts of Rafah, according to the Hamas government.

The threat of an Israeli incursion into Gaza's southernmost town of Rafah persisted Sunday, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised "safe passage" to civilians displaced there.

In an interview airing Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated his intention to extend Israel's military operation against Hamas into Rafah.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will kick off another Mideast crisis tour on Monday in a bid to secure a new truce in the Israel-Hamas war, as southern Gaza saw no let-up in fighting.

On his fifth trip to the region since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, Blinken is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt and Qatar.

Israel bombs Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, against a backdrop of negotiations aimed at bringing about a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas in the absence of a long-term peace plan.