Israeli army announces daily 'tactical pause' in southern Gaza to allow aid to arrive

The Israeli military said it would observe a limited daily “tactical pause” along one of the main roads in the Gaza Strip to allow the delivery of increased amounts of humanitarian aid, UN agencies having suspended deliveries from a US-built dock.

The Israeli army added, however, that this pause should not be considered a “cessation of hostilities in the southern Gaza Strip”.

The announcement came as the IDF revealed the deaths of three more soldiers on Saturday, bringing the total to 11, including eight killed in an attack on their armored personnel carrier in the southern city of Rafah.

The tactical pause, which was declared as Muslims around the world began the important religious holiday of Eid Al-Adha, comes amid renewed focus on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza after eight months of war.

The limited pause follows negotiations with Egypt and pressure from the United States to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The Israeli military said the break would begin in the Rafah area at 8 a.m. and remain in effect until 7 p.m. along the main Salah al-Din road, to allow aid trucks to transit between the passage of Kerem Shalom from Israel, adding that the break would take place every day. until further notice.

He said the pause was coordinated with the UN and international aid agencies.

The move was immediately condemned by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“Whoever decided on a ‘tactical pause’ in particular for the delivery of humanitarian aid while the best of our soldiers are killed in combat is an imbecile and an imbecile who must not remain in power.”

The crossing has suffered a bottleneck since Israeli ground troops entered Rafah in early May.

The announcement comes shortly after the army said two more Israeli soldiers were killed in northern Gaza on Saturday, in addition to eight killed in an explosion that engulfed their armored vehicle in Rafah the same day.

The deaths come as evidence mounts that Hamas fighters in Gaza have shifted away from direct interactions with Israeli troops to insurgent tactics. Fighters mined buildings with explosives, used powerful improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and launched hit-and-run attacks with rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles.

The losses, among the heaviest for the Israeli army since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27, are likely to fuel growing calls for a ceasefire and increase Israeli public anger over to ultra-Orthodox military exemptions.

Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to demand a ceasefire, marking the start of what they see as a week of actions against the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

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At least 19 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza on Saturday. At least 37,296 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli offensive on the territory, thousands more are believed to be buried under rubble and tens of thousands injured.

Israel’s eight-month military offensive against Hamas has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, with the UN reporting widespread famine and hundreds of thousands on the brink of starvation as Israel blockades the delivery of aid and cut off the water supply. The international community has urged Israel to authorize more aid.

From May 6 to June 6, the U.N. received an average of 68 trucks of aid per day, according to figures from the U.N. humanitarian office, known as OCHA. That’s down from 168 trucks per day in April and well below the 500 trucks per day needed, according to humanitarian groups.

The flow of aid into southern Gaza has declined as humanitarian needs have increased. More than a million Palestinians, many of whom had already been displaced, fled Rafah after the invasion to gather in other parts of southern and central Gaza. Most languish in dilapidated tent camps, using trenches as latrines, with open sewers in the streets.

Cogat, the Israeli military body that oversees aid distribution in Gaza, says there are no restrictions on truck entry. It indicates that more than 8,600 trucks of all kinds, both humanitarian and commercial, entered Gaza from all crossing points between May 2 and June 13, an average of 201 per day. But much of this aid accumulated at crossing points and did not reach its final destination.

It was not immediately clear whether the military would provide security to protect the aid trucks as they move along the highway.

Agencies contributed to this report