A ship carrying 200 tons of aid is approaching the coast of Gaza in a mission to establish a sea route from Cyprus that is intended to bring more assistance to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

The ship, manned by the Spanish aid group Open Arms, left Cyprus on Tuesday towing a barge laden with food sent by World Central Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres.

It could be seen off Gaza’s coast on Friday morning.

Israel has been under increasing pressure to allow more aid into Gaza after five months of war between Israel and Hamas.

The United States has joined other countries in airdropping supplies to the isolated region of northern Gaza and has announced separate plans to construct a pier to bring in aid.

The aid ship approached as the Palestinian Health Ministry accused Israeli forces of launching an attack near an aid distribution point in northern Gaza, killing 20 people and wounding 155 others.

The Israeli military said those reports “are false”, adding it was assessing the violence that occurred late Thursday “with the thoroughness that it deserves”.

The violence occurred near the Kuwaiti Roundabout, which has been a point for the distribution of aid in northern Gaza over the past weeks. The health ministry said a group waiting for aid was hit by Israeli shelling.

Bloodshed surrounding an aid convoy on February 29 killed 118 Palestinians in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said some of its forces fired at people in the crowd who were advancing towards them.

Witnesses and hospital officials said many of the casualties were from bullet wounds. The Israeli military said many of the casualties were caused by a stampede over the food and people being run over by the aid trucks.

The United Nations says a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people face starvation, many of them in the isolated north, the largely devastated target of Israel’s initial offensive in Gaza.

Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in southern Israel during the Hamas-led incursion on October 7 that sparked the war. Around 250 people were abducted, and Hamas is believed to still be holding about 100 hostages.

Meanwhile, Australia said it will restore funding to the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians, weeks after the agency lost hundreds of millions of dollars in support following Israeli allegations that some of its Gaza-based staff participated in the October 7 attack.

The Australian government also pledged to increase aid for the besieged enclave, with foreign minister Penny Wong expressing horror at the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Australia’s move follows Sweden, the European Commission and Canada in reinstating funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, which had seen its international funding frozen while the allegations were investigated.

Elsewhere, a Hamas official said on Friday that the militant group has put forward a new proposal for a ceasefire deal.

International mediators had hoped to broker a six-week ceasefire before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began earlier this week. But talks stalled with no agreement in sight.

The mediators had proposed a deal that called for Hamas to free dozens of hostages being held in Gaza; Israel to release Palestinian prisoners it is holding; and a major influx of aid into Gaza. Hamas has said it wants a permanent ceasefire, the return of displaced people and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said on Friday that the group put forward a new plan along similar lines as its previous demands. He declined to give details of the plan or explain how it differed from their earlier plans.