A first aid ship plying a new maritime corridor from Cyprus began unloading its cargo of desperately needed food in Gaza on Friday as Hamas proposed a new six-week truce in the war.
The Open Arms, which set sail from Cyprus on Tuesday, was towing a barge that the Spanish charity operating it says is loaded with 200 tonnes of food for Gazans threatened with famine after more than five months of war.
"World Central Kitchen is unloading the barge connected now to the jetty," said Linda Roth, a spokesperson for the US charity that is working with Open Arms.
The Israeli military said it had deployed troops to "secure the area" around the jetty. The "vessel underwent a comprehensive security inspection," it added.
Additionally, following a cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv on Friday, Netanyahu's office said he has approved the military's plan to invade and evacuate the population of Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than one million people have sought shelter and serves as the centre of aid operations in the war-ravaged territory.
Earlier on Friday, Palestinian group Hamas released its long awaited ceasefire proposal which details a three-stage plan to hand over Israeli captives and in turn free hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli jails.
Netanyahu denounced the demands as "ridiculous", but said officials were headed to Doha to continue negotiations.
Overnight Thursday, at least 20 people died and 155 others were injured when Israeli forces, including a helicopter and tank, opened fire on a crowd waiting for aid in Gaza City. It is the latest in a series of attacks on aid seekers, to which the Israeli army has denied responsibility.
On the 161st day of the war, the death toll stands at 31,490 Palestinians killed and 73,439 wounded in Gaza since the war broke out in October.