Israel announces daily “tactical pauses” – DW – 06/16/2024

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will soon travel to Washington for talks with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon announced on Saturday.

The meeting will aim to “further discuss ongoing security developments in the Middle East,” Pentagon press secretary Gen. Patrick Ryder said in a statement on the X social media platform.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Gallant, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged war crimes in Gaza, but as the United States is not a state party to the ICC , it is very unlikely that Gallant will be arrested. arrested during his visit.

Although the defense minister is part of Netanyahu’s Likud party, he has repeatedly clashed with the prime minister. But he refused to leave the War Cabinet despite calls from former cabinet member Benny Gantz.

The announcement comes as U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to promote a ceasefire proposal that it says has Netanyahu’s support.

The proposed deal, however, has been roundly rejected by some of Netanyahu’s far-right allies, while the Palestinian militant group Hamas has so far not accepted the plan and has called for several amendments.

Blinken: Some of the changes sought by Hamas are ‘achievable’

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The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it would carry out a “daily tactical pause in its military activities” in part of the southern Gaza Strip to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave ravaged by war via a key border post.

In a statement posted on ‘at further notice’. the road that leads from the Kerem Shalom crossroads to the Salah al-Din road, then north.

The statement said the move was aimed at “increasing the volumes of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip” following discussions with the UN and other organizations.

Humanitarian groups have long complained of being unable to deliver much-needed supplies to the Palestinian territory amid ongoing fighting.

The route described in the statement passes south of the town of Rafah, south of Gaza, where
The Israeli army continues its operations aimed, according to it, at eliminating the last Hamas militants entrenched in the region.

The operations in Rafah drew widespread international condemnation, as many Palestinian civilians had sought refuge in the city from fighting elsewhere in the territory.

The Israeli offensive in Gaza follows raids carried out in the south of the country by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7, during which some 1,200 Israelis died and more than 250 hostages were taken.

tj/ab (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)