ISRAEL has announced a “tactical pause” in fighting across large parts of Gaza.
Military operations will be halted for 10 hours during the day as officials look to establish new designated humanitarian aid corridors.
Palestinians gather as they wait for aid supplies to enter Gaza[/caption]
Military operations will be halted for 10 hours during the day[/caption]
Trucks carrying aid enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing today[/caption]
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement detailing the plan.
It said: “A local tactical pause in military activity will take place for humanitarian purposes from 10am to 8pm (7am to 5pm UK time), starting today.
“The pause will begin in the areas where the IDF is not operating: al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City, every day until further notice.
“This decision was coordinated with the UN and international organisations following discussions regarding the matter.”
There have been no renewed ground operations in the three regions targeted in the pause since March.
Designated secure routes will be created during these breaks in the conflict to allow aid to flow into Gaza, they added.
The corridors will be in place permanently between 6am to 11pm and will be used by UN and humanitarian aid organisations.
Convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine to the struggling population remains a priority for Israel, the statement said.
The IDF adds that it “will continue to support humanitarian efforts alongside ongoing manoeuvring and offensive operations against terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip, in order to protect Israeli civilians.”
International aid agencies have repeatedly voiced concerns over the dangerous routes they have to take to deliver aid.
Many claim to have become too scared due to feeling endangered by Israeli troops attacking convoys and the rush of civilians when they see them coming.
There is no set date for when the pause will officially end with the IDF stating it is prepared to expand the scale of this activity if required.
The Israeli military has regularly announced “tactical pauses” in specific areas in the past.
These typically would last just hours but were aimed at allowing UN humanitarian operations to take place.
A red zone remains in place in much of southern Gaza with IDF forces warning these are still “dangerous combat zones”.
The move comes amid growing calls for action in the Strip over starvation accusations.
Hamas’ health ministry claims 127 people have died from a lack of food since Israel launched a counter attack inside Gaza following October 7.
It alleges at least a third of them are children.
Israel continues to deny any hunger crisis in Gaza and strongly refutes any claims it is deliberately starving Palestinians.
The tactical pause the marks the second major positive step this week.
Israel resumed air-dropping foreign aid into Gaza on Saturday.
Planes reportedly continued to drop packages of aid early this morning, containing flour, sugar and canned food.
