Under a heavy police presence, tens of thousands of Muslims attended the first Friday prayers of Ramadan in east Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, a gathering weighed down by the war in Gaza.

Old men leaning on canes, veiled women and smartly dressed children flowed through the gates of the Israeli-annexed Old City for the midday prayer, which unfolded peacefully, though some younger men were turned away by police conducting security checks.

President Joe Biden praised Friday a speech by the US Senate leader urging new elections in Israel, saying many Americans shared concerns about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the Gaza war.

The call by Democratic Senate majority chief Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish American in history, was the most strident rebuke of Israel yet by a senior US official since Hamas's October 7 attacks.

A United States charity said on Friday it was unloading the first shipment of food aid sent via a maritime corridor from Cyprus to war-ravaged Gaza.

"World Central Kitchen is unloading the barge connected now to the jetty," said Linda Roth, a spokesperson for the group.

The Israeli military confirmed that the vessel, the Open Arms, had arrived in Gazan waters and said Israeli troops had "been deployed to secure the area".

"The vessel underwent a comprehensive security inspection," the military said.

A missile launched Friday by Yemen's Huthi rebels at a ship in the Red Sea caused no damage, after they threatened to expand their harassment campaign which has disrupted global trade.

The Iran-backed rebels have launched dozens of missile and drone strikes on shipping in the commercially vital seaway over the past four months.

They say they are targeting Israel-linked shipping as part of an "axis of resistance" of Iran allies and proxies, in protest at Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

From the hatch of a US aircraft, the destruction wrought by months of war on the Gaza Strip stretched out below in grey piles of debris along the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean.

The transport plane rumbled above the besieged territory, as airmen from the 26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron readied pallets of desperately needed food aid destined for Palestinians in northern Gaza.

But the three tonnes of humanitarian assistance provided by Jordan is just a "drop in the bucket" of what is needed, said co-pilot Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Anderson.

The first aid vessel heading to the besieged Gaza Strip via a new maritime corridor was visible Friday off the coast of the war-ravaged territory, an AFP journalist said.

Images shot by the journalist showed the Open Arms towing a barge which the Spanish charity operating it says is carrying 200 tonnes of food for Gazans threatened with famine after more than five months of war.

Ship-tracking websites showed the Open Arms roughly five kilometres (three miles) off the coast of northern Gaza.

Efforts towards a truce in the Israel-Hamas war appeared to rekindle on Saturday after a new proposal from the Palestinian militant group which also called for more aid into Gaza, where the first food shipment by sea reached shore.

Israel said it would send a delegation to Qatar for a new round of talks on a possible deal. It also advanced plans for a military operation in Rafah, where most of Gaza's population has sought refuge from more than five months of war and deprivation.

A missile fired at a ship in the Red Sea caused no damage, marine security monitors said Friday, as Yemen's Huthi rebels threatened to expand their harassment campaign which has disrupted global trade.

The Royal Navy's United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations and security firm Ambrey had reported that the ship was damaged after being hit west of the rebel-held Yemeni port of Hodeida in the early hours of Friday.

But a daylight inspection showed that the vessel had not been impacted by the missile and had not sustained damage, UKMTO and Ambrey said in a later update.

Saudi largesse is flooding Egypt's cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new "cooperation" between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh.

In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Culture Minister Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Turki al-Sheikh, head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority.

The deep-pocketed Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt's cultural elite, courted by Cairo's top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films.

Months of missile attacks across the Red Sea are casting a shadow over Ramadan in war-torn Yemen, contributing to rising prices as many struggle to afford the holy month's traditional daily feasts.

In Taez, a city that has been besieged for years by Yemen's Huthi rebels, father-of-five Amin Ghaleb leaves a grocery store empty-handed after haggling fruitlessly with the shopkeeper.

"I can't afford to buy anything," the 50-year-old tells AFP, frowning as he folds his money into his pocket.