An aid ship loaded with some 200 tonnes of food has set sail from Cyprus to Gaza, the international charity behind the effort said.

The shipment is a test for the opening of a sea corridor to supply aid to the territory, where starvation is spreading five months into the Israel-Hamas war.

World Food Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres, posted on the X social media platform that a ship set sail on Tuesday.

Live footage from the Associated Pres showed the ship being towed out of a harbour in the port city of Larnaca.

The US has separately announced plans to construct a sea bridge near Gaza in order to deliver aid, but it will likely be several weeks before it is operational.

The five-month-old war that was triggered by Hamas’ October 7 attack in southern Israel has killed over 30,000 Palestinians and driven some 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes.

The UN says a quarter of the population is starving.

The attack that sparked the war killed around 1,200 people, and militants took around 250 hostage.

Aid groups say it is nearly impossible to deliver aid in much of the territory because of Israeli restrictions, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of law and order after the Hamas-run police force largely vanished from the streets.

It’s unclear how effective the sea deliveries will be in addressing the humanitarian catastrophe, as there will still be difficulties in delivering the aid once it is inside Gaza.