Israel announces ‘pause’ along route to southern Gaza to allow aid to arrive, but no let-up in Rafah offensive

Jerusalem
CNN
—

The Israeli army announced a “tactical pause” in its military activities along a road in southern Gaza to allow the distribution of aid, but stressed that there would be no let-up in the fighting in and around Rafah in southern Gaza.

The break started on Saturday and will take place every day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time until further notice to allow trucks to travel from the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point for incoming aid into southern Gaza, to the Salah al-Din road and towards the north, the Israeli army said.

The Israeli campaign in Gaza has triggered a humanitarian crisis. An aid bottleneck has built up in Kerem Shalom due to airstrikes and fighting in much of southern Gaza.

The Israeli army has designated a road connecting Kerem Shalom to Al Bayuk and the European Hospital in Khan Younis which will be open during the day only for the transport of humanitarian aid. It will be managed in coordination with international organizations, he said, as part of efforts to increase the volumes of aid arriving in Gaza.

But shortly after announcing the decision, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that “the fighting in Rafah continues,” adding that “there is no change in the entry of goods into the Strip.”

Ongoing heavy fighting in Rafah as Israel seeks to destroy Hamas in Gaza continued on Sunday, with a Gaza civil defense official telling CNN that violent clashes were underway in western neighborhoods of Rafah.

On Saturday, eight IDF soldiers were killed near the town, one of the deadliest incidents of the war for Israeli troops.

UNRWA’s Gaza affairs director, Scott Anderson, welcomed the “tactical pause,” telling CNN “we sincerely hope that this long daily pause will allow us to move freely from one side to the other.”

But Israeli Security Minister Ben Gvir – a prominent right-wing cabinet member – condemned the pause. “Anyone who decided on a ‘tactical pause’ for the purpose of a humanitarian transition, especially at a time when the best of our soldiers are falling in combat, is a villain and a fool who should not continue in their position” , did he declare. said.

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Human rights groups have described “indescribable” living conditions for Palestinians in Gaza after eight months of Israeli bombardment, with more than 75% of the population displaced, according to the UN refugee agency Palestinians (UNRWA). The Israeli military campaign has destroyed neighborhoods, damaged health infrastructure and exhausted food, water and fuel supplies.

More than 37,000 people have been killed during the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to figures from the Gaza Health Ministry. The conflict in the enclave began following October 7 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which killed around 1,200 people and captured 250 hostages in southern Israel.

More than 50,000 children in Gaza now need treatment for acute malnutrition, UNRWA said in a message published on X on Saturday.

“With continued restrictions on humanitarian access, residents of #Gaza continue to face desperate levels of hunger. More than 50,000 children need treatment for acute malnutrition.

Last month, Israel continued its ground operations in central Rafah, leading hundreds of thousands of already displaced people to leave the area.

Internally displaced Palestinians are estimated to be crowded into an area of ​​69 square kilometers (27 square miles), or less than a fifth of the territory’s land area.

Aid was delivered to Gaza by land, sea and air soon after the war began, but few entry points remain operational. These are Kerem Shalom, on the southern border of Gaza, and Erez-West, to the north.

Humanitarian agencies say land routes are the quickest and most efficient way to deliver large-scale aid to Gaza. But even when aid arrives in Gaza, distributing it throughout Gaza poses many problems, as convoys require Israeli approval, many roads are badly damaged, and security is often problematic.

Efforts to deliver aid by sea failed after the U.S. military announced Friday it would temporarily dismantle the humanitarian pier it had built off the coast of Gaza due to heavy seas.

This will be the second time in weeks that the fragile system of piers and causeways, known as Joint Logistics over the Shore or JLOTS, has had to be repatriated to the Israeli port of Ashdod.