Israeli army to pause daytime fighting near southern Gaza to help flow of aid
Global News
Israel's military says it will pause fighting during daytime hours along a route in southern Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to Palestinians.
Israel’s military announced on Sunday that it would pause fighting during daytime hours along a route in southern Gaza to free up a backlog of humanitarian aid deliveries for desperate Palestinians enduring a humanitarian crisis sparked by the war, now in its ninth month.
The “tactical pause,” which applies to about 12 kilometres (7.4 miles) of road in the Rafah area, falls far short of a complete cease-fire in the territory that has been sought by the international community, including Israel’s top ally, the United States.
It could help address some of the overwhelming needs of Palestinians that have surged in recent weeks with Israel’s incursion into Rafah.
The army said the daily pause would begin at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) and last until 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) and continue until further notice.
Following criticism of the move by ultranationalists in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, who oppose a halt in the war, the military said fighting is not being paused in the rest of southern Gaza and there is no change regarding the entry of aid in general.
The pause is aimed at allowing aid trucks to reach the nearby Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point for aid and travel safely to the Salah a-Din highway, a main north-south road, the military said.
The crossing has had a bottleneck since Israeli ground troops moved into Rafah in early May.
COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees aid distribution in Gaza, said the route would increase the flow of aid to other parts of Gaza, including Khan Younis, the coastal area of Muwasi and central Gaza.