Middle East crisis live: UK-owned cargo ship sinks in Red Sea days after Houthi attack; US aircraft carry out airdrops of aid to Gaza – as it happened

Officials say a British-registered cargo ship hit in a missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea. This blog is now closed.

The US will start airdrops of food and emergency supplies into Gaza in the next few days, Joe Biden has announced, amid UN warnings of famine and after Israeli troops opened fire on Gazans seeking food aid.

The use of airdrops is a spectacular but inefficient way of delivering aid, and Friday's announcement suggests that Biden had given up on being able to persuade Israel in the near future to coordinate a large-scale ground-based relief effort under the threat of mass starvation across Gaza.