Alongside the vessel, the government confirmed a £9.7m package for aid deliveries, logistical expertise and equipment support for a humanitarian corridor in the eastern Mediterranean.

The corridor, which is also being supported by the UN and other governments including the US, is expected to be operational by early May.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the package is to "maximise the levels of aid reaching those people who desperately need it".

Israel-Gaza latest: Protests in Tel Aviv after 'half a year of hell'

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said his department remains "committed" to getting aid to Gaza, where "the situation… is dire and the prospect of famine is real".

"We remain committed to getting aid to those who so desperately need it," Lord Cameron said.

"Along with the US, Cyprus and other partners, we are setting up a new temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to get aid in as quickly and securely as possible.

"Land access remains crucial to deliver aid at the scale now required. The opening of Erez and the Port of Ashdod is hugely welcome and something the UK has long been calling for.

"Israel has also agreed to increase the number of aid trucks entering Gaza to a minimum of 500 a day.

"But we need to continue to explore all options, including by sea and air, to ease the desperate plight of some of the world's most vulnerable people."

Lord Cameron also wrote in The Sunday Times the UK's support of Israel is "not unconditional" as reports that the UK weighs up suspending the sale of arms to Israel emerge.

He said there is "no doubt where the blames lies" for the deaths of seven aid workers earlier this week, and added: "This must never happen again."

John Chapman, 57, James "Jim" Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, were the three Britons who died in airstrikes carried out by the IDF on their aid convoy on 1 April.

However, six months after the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas, the foreign secretary said: "We must not forget how this conflict started - with the Jewish people suffering the worst and most murderous pogrom since the Holocaust."

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The British armed forces have dropped 40 tonnes of aid into Gaza in recent weeks to tackle the bottleneck in supplies reaching Palestinians.

The five air drops have seen supplies including water, flour and baby formula parachuted into the territory.

The announcement of the aid package comes on the six-month anniversary of the 7 October attack.

It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Hamas's strikes on Israel "the most appalling attack" and said the UK continues to stand by Israel's right to defend its security.

He added however that "the whole of the UK is shocked by the bloodshed, and appalled by the killing of brave British heroes who were bringing food to those in need".

The prime minister also highlighted the growing toll on Palestinian civilians, and said the UK had been "straining every sinew" to get aid into Gaza, while emphasising the need for Hamas to release its captives.

He called for an immediate humanitarian pause in the fighting, "leading to a long-term sustainable ceasefire".