The Israeli army on Sunday announced that it would implement a daily “tactical pause of military activity” in part of the southern Gaza Strip during daylight hours to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid from UN agencies.
The IDF said in a statement that “a local, tactical pause of military activity for humanitarian purposes will take place from 08:00 until 19:00 every day until further notice along the road that leads from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah al-Din Road and then northwards”.
To increase the volume of humanitarian aid entering Gaza and following additional related discussions with the U.N. and international organizations, a local, tactical pause of military activity for humanitarian purposes will take place from 08:00 until 19:00 every day until… pic.twitter.com/QLXNFZsTYZ— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 16, 2024
The decision was taken as part of efforts to “increase the volumes of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip” following discussions with the UN and other organisations, it said. Israel has long defended its efforts to facilitate aid deliveries, including through the Kerem Shalom crossing, but humanitarian groups have warned for months about a dire lack of food and other essentials in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The World Health Organisation has said more than 8,000 children under five have been treated for acute malnutrition in Gaza. International mediators have been pressing Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal laid out by US President Joe Biden to allow for hostage-prisoner exchanges and increased aid deliveries, but progress has stalled in recent days.
World Food Programme deputy executive director Carl Skau said recently that “with lawlessness inside the Strip… and active conflict”, it has become “close to impossible to deliver the level of aid that meets the growing demands on the ground”. Israel’s eight-month military offensive against the Hamas militant group has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, with the U.N. reporting widespread hunger and hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of famine.
The international community has urged Israel to do more to ease the crunch. More than 1 million Palestinians crowding into other parts of southern and central Gaza, according to The Associated Press. Most now languish in ramshackle tent camps, using trenches as latrines, with open sewage in the streets.
(With agency inputs)
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