A ship taking almost 200 tonnes of food to Gaza left a port in Cyprus early Tuesday in a pilot project to open a new sea route of aid to a population on the brink of famine.

The charity ship Open Arms was seen sailing out of Larnaca port in Cyprus, towing a barge containing around 200 tonnes of flour, rice and protein.

With aid entering Gaza by truck far below pre-war levels, and Gazans increasingly desperate, foreign governments have turned to airdrops and are now trying to open a maritime aid corridor from Cyprus.

With the flow of food and other assistance slowed to a trickle, a UN report citing the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry said 25 people have now died from malnutrition and dehydration, most of them children.

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