Israel announces 'pause' to fighting in parts of Gaza as aid drops resume
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the so-called "tactical pause" would be in place in areas around Deir al Balah, Gaza City, and the Mawasi camp.
Until last week, Deir al Balah had been largely spared from Israeli strikes and shelling as it was believed to be the location where Hamas was holding Israeli hostages.
There are 50 hostages held in Gaza, with 20 of them believed to still be alive.
The population in Mawasi has surged in recent weeks, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Khan Younis and beyond were told to move to the coastal zone as displacement orders were expanded elsewhere in the strip, turning the area into a sea of tents.
"This decision was coordinated with the UN and international organisations following discussions regarding the matter," the IDF said in a statement.
The IDF "pauses" will run daily from 10am to 8pm "until further notice," it said. Israeli strikes elsewhere are expected to continue unchanged.
Palestinian health authorities announced another five deaths from starvation late on Saturday, raising the death toll to 127 people, including 85 children.
"A humanitarian truce is not a time for silence, but rather for saving those who remain alive," said the director general of Gaza's Ministry of Health, Dr Munir Al-Barsh, in a statement.
"In light of a temporary truce stifled by international hesitation and silence, the wounded are crying out for help, children are starving, and mothers are collapsing over the ruins of what remains of life.
"This truce will mean nothing if it doesn't turn into a real opportunity to save lives.
"Every delay is measured by another funeral, and every silence means another child dying in its mother's arms without medicine or milk."
Dr Al-Barsh said urgent medical evacuations were needed for patients requiring serious surgery and complex treatments, and the urgent entry of aid such as baby formula, nutritional supplements, and antibiotics.
The development followed an announcement on Saturday night, local time, that the Israeli military would begin airdrops of aid into the strip.
Seven pallets were dropped, carrying flour, sugar, and canned food. There are reports that as many as 11 Palestinians were injured as the pallets fell on their tents.
The IDF also announced it would create "secure corridors" for the United Nations and aid agencies to pick up supplies sitting at the Gaza border and distribute them through the strip.
A key criticism of Israel in recent weeks has been that it was too dangerous and difficult to collect the supplies, which are sitting on the Gaza side of the border, because of Israel's ongoing military activity.
Israel has accused the UN of failing to do its job in taking the aid where it is needed.
The humanitarian corridors will operate from 6am to 11pm daily.
Philippe Lazarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA — the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees — called the airdrop announcement a "distraction".
"Man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will," he said in a post on X.
"Airdrops will not prevent aid diversion, principled humanitarian assistance will … Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper, and safer. It's more dignified for the people of Gaza."
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Israel announces pauses in Gaza to allow aid for hungry
Israel says it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors in the shattered enclave, where images of hungry Palestinians have alarmed the world. Military activity will stop from 10am to 8pm local time (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi - a designated humanitarian area that stretches along the coast - in central Deir al-Balah and Gaza City to the north. The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6am and 11pm from Sunday. United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas. "Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said in a post on X. Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 people waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thousands of Gazans gathered in locations where they expect aid trucks to roll through on Sunday, Reuters witnesses and locals said. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Gaza health ministry reported six new deaths in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133, including 87 children. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying 1200 metric tons of food aid to southern Gaza on Sunday through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hours earlier, Israel began aid airdrops in what it said was an effort to ease the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September. The UN said last week humanitarian pauses in military activity would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance", adding that Israel had not been providing enough route alternatives for its convoys, hindering aid access. Israel, which cut off the aid flow to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people. Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear the militants did not want a deal. Many Gazans expressed tentative relief about Sunday's announcement, but said the fighting must end permanently. Others voiced concern about how aid would be delivered and whether it would reach people safely. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the aid decision, which he said was made without his involvement on Saturday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence officials. "This is a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign," he said in a statement, repeating his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage its Palestinian population to leave. He stopped short of threatening to quit the government. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments. After letting in aid in May, Israel said there was enough food in Gaza but that the UN was failing to distribute it. The UN said it was operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Since then, Israel's offensive against Hamas has killed almost 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced almost the entire population. Israel says it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors in the shattered enclave, where images of hungry Palestinians have alarmed the world. Military activity will stop from 10am to 8pm local time (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi - a designated humanitarian area that stretches along the coast - in central Deir al-Balah and Gaza City to the north. The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6am and 11pm from Sunday. United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas. "Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said in a post on X. Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 people waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thousands of Gazans gathered in locations where they expect aid trucks to roll through on Sunday, Reuters witnesses and locals said. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Gaza health ministry reported six new deaths in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133, including 87 children. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying 1200 metric tons of food aid to southern Gaza on Sunday through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hours earlier, Israel began aid airdrops in what it said was an effort to ease the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September. The UN said last week humanitarian pauses in military activity would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance", adding that Israel had not been providing enough route alternatives for its convoys, hindering aid access. Israel, which cut off the aid flow to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people. Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear the militants did not want a deal. Many Gazans expressed tentative relief about Sunday's announcement, but said the fighting must end permanently. Others voiced concern about how aid would be delivered and whether it would reach people safely. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the aid decision, which he said was made without his involvement on Saturday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence officials. "This is a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign," he said in a statement, repeating his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage its Palestinian population to leave. He stopped short of threatening to quit the government. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments. After letting in aid in May, Israel said there was enough food in Gaza but that the UN was failing to distribute it. The UN said it was operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Since then, Israel's offensive against Hamas has killed almost 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced almost the entire population. Israel says it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors in the shattered enclave, where images of hungry Palestinians have alarmed the world. Military activity will stop from 10am to 8pm local time (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi - a designated humanitarian area that stretches along the coast - in central Deir al-Balah and Gaza City to the north. The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6am and 11pm from Sunday. United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas. "Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said in a post on X. Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 people waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thousands of Gazans gathered in locations where they expect aid trucks to roll through on Sunday, Reuters witnesses and locals said. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Gaza health ministry reported six new deaths in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133, including 87 children. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying 1200 metric tons of food aid to southern Gaza on Sunday through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hours earlier, Israel began aid airdrops in what it said was an effort to ease the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September. The UN said last week humanitarian pauses in military activity would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance", adding that Israel had not been providing enough route alternatives for its convoys, hindering aid access. Israel, which cut off the aid flow to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people. Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear the militants did not want a deal. Many Gazans expressed tentative relief about Sunday's announcement, but said the fighting must end permanently. Others voiced concern about how aid would be delivered and whether it would reach people safely. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the aid decision, which he said was made without his involvement on Saturday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence officials. "This is a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign," he said in a statement, repeating his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage its Palestinian population to leave. He stopped short of threatening to quit the government. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments. After letting in aid in May, Israel said there was enough food in Gaza but that the UN was failing to distribute it. The UN said it was operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Since then, Israel's offensive against Hamas has killed almost 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced almost the entire population. Israel says it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors in the shattered enclave, where images of hungry Palestinians have alarmed the world. Military activity will stop from 10am to 8pm local time (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi - a designated humanitarian area that stretches along the coast - in central Deir al-Balah and Gaza City to the north. The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6am and 11pm from Sunday. United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas. "Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said in a post on X. Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 people waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thousands of Gazans gathered in locations where they expect aid trucks to roll through on Sunday, Reuters witnesses and locals said. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Gaza health ministry reported six new deaths in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133, including 87 children. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying 1200 metric tons of food aid to southern Gaza on Sunday through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hours earlier, Israel began aid airdrops in what it said was an effort to ease the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September. The UN said last week humanitarian pauses in military activity would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance", adding that Israel had not been providing enough route alternatives for its convoys, hindering aid access. Israel, which cut off the aid flow to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people. Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear the militants did not want a deal. Many Gazans expressed tentative relief about Sunday's announcement, but said the fighting must end permanently. Others voiced concern about how aid would be delivered and whether it would reach people safely. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the aid decision, which he said was made without his involvement on Saturday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence officials. "This is a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign," he said in a statement, repeating his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage its Palestinian population to leave. He stopped short of threatening to quit the government. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments. After letting in aid in May, Israel said there was enough food in Gaza but that the UN was failing to distribute it. The UN said it was operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Since then, Israel's offensive against Hamas has killed almost 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced almost the entire population.
ABC News
10 hours ago
- ABC News
Israel announces 'pause' to fighting in parts of Gaza as aid drops resume
Israel is halting the bombardment of densely populated parts of Gaza for 10 hours a day, as it yields to international pressure to let more aid into the war-ravaged strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the so-called "tactical pause" would be in place in areas around Deir al Balah, Gaza City, and the Mawasi camp. Until last week, Deir al Balah had been largely spared from Israeli strikes and shelling as it was believed to be the location where Hamas was holding Israeli hostages. There are 50 hostages held in Gaza, with 20 of them believed to still be alive. The population in Mawasi has surged in recent weeks, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Khan Younis and beyond were told to move to the coastal zone as displacement orders were expanded elsewhere in the strip, turning the area into a sea of tents. "This decision was coordinated with the UN and international organisations following discussions regarding the matter," the IDF said in a statement. The IDF "pauses" will run daily from 10am to 8pm "until further notice," it said. Israeli strikes elsewhere are expected to continue unchanged. Palestinian health authorities announced another five deaths from starvation late on Saturday, raising the death toll to 127 people, including 85 children. "A humanitarian truce is not a time for silence, but rather for saving those who remain alive," said the director general of Gaza's Ministry of Health, Dr Munir Al-Barsh, in a statement. "In light of a temporary truce stifled by international hesitation and silence, the wounded are crying out for help, children are starving, and mothers are collapsing over the ruins of what remains of life. "This truce will mean nothing if it doesn't turn into a real opportunity to save lives. "Every delay is measured by another funeral, and every silence means another child dying in its mother's arms without medicine or milk." Dr Al-Barsh said urgent medical evacuations were needed for patients requiring serious surgery and complex treatments, and the urgent entry of aid such as baby formula, nutritional supplements, and antibiotics. The development followed an announcement on Saturday night, local time, that the Israeli military would begin airdrops of aid into the strip. Seven pallets were dropped, carrying flour, sugar, and canned food. There are reports that as many as 11 Palestinians were injured as the pallets fell on their tents. The IDF also announced it would create "secure corridors" for the United Nations and aid agencies to pick up supplies sitting at the Gaza border and distribute them through the strip. A key criticism of Israel in recent weeks has been that it was too dangerous and difficult to collect the supplies, which are sitting on the Gaza side of the border, because of Israel's ongoing military activity. Israel has accused the UN of failing to do its job in taking the aid where it is needed. The humanitarian corridors will operate from 6am to 11pm daily. Philippe Lazarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA — the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees — called the airdrop announcement a "distraction". "Man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will," he said in a post on X. "Airdrops will not prevent aid diversion, principled humanitarian assistance will … Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper, and safer. It's more dignified for the people of Gaza."
SBS Australia
19 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Israel resumes airdrop aid to Gaza but UN aid agency calls move a 'distraction'
Israel resumed airdrop aid to Gaza on Sunday AEST as the Israeli military announced several steps to address the humanitarian crisis after mounting international pressure. The military said in a statement that designated corridors would be established to enable the movement of United Nations convoys delivering aid to the Gaza population. "The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food to be provided by international organisations," it added. Palestinian sources confirmed that aid has begun dropping in northern Gaza. Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and accuses the United Nations of failing to distribute it. The United Nations says it is operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. The Israeli military statement said "there is no starvation in the Gaza Strip" and "this is a false campaign promoted by Hamas". The UN said on Thursday that humanitarian pauses would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance" and said Israel hadn't provided ample route alternatives for its convoys which has hindered aid access. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in the past few weeks , according to the Gaza Health Ministry while 127 people have died due to malnutrition, including 85 children, since the start of the war, which began nearly two years ago. On Wednesday, more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the enclave. The military also said Saturday that it had connected a power line to a desalination plant, expected to supply daily water needs for about 900,000 Gazans. Aid organisations cast doubt over effectiveness of airdrops Humanitarian chiefs are deeply sceptical that airdrops can deliver enough food to tackle the deepening hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants. They are instead demanding that Israel allow more overland convoys. A number of Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective. "Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. "They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians." "It is a distraction & screensmoke," Lazzarini said in a post on X. Israel imposed a total blockade on the entry of aid into Gaza on 2 March after talks to extend a ceasefire in the over 21-month-old conflict broke down. In late May, it began letting a trickle of aid enter. Israel's military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into the Gaza Strip, and alleges that UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting the aid once it is inside the territory. But humanitarian organisations accuse the Israeli army of imposing excessive restrictions, while tightly controlling road access within Gaza.
