Israel declares ‘tactical pause’ in fighting

Israel declared a “tactical pause” in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the UN and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. It said it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza […]

Israel declared a “tactical pause” in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the UN and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.

It said it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip”.

UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed the pauses, saying on social media he was in “contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window”.

The charity Oxfam’s regional policy chief Bushra Khalidi called the move a “welcome first step” but warned it could prove insufficient.

“Starvation won’t be solved by a few trucks or airdrops,” she said. “What’s needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open, and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza.

“We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege.”

The daily pause – from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm – will be limited to areas where Israel says its troops are not currently operating – Al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City.

Israel said “designated secure routes” would also open across Gaza for aid convoys carrying food and medicine. The military said these operations, alongside its campaign against Palestinian armed groups, should disprove “the false claim of deliberate starvation”.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, citing “reasonable grounds” to suspect war crimes, including starvation, charges Israel vehemently denies.

On Saturday alone, the Palestinian civil defence agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centres.

In a social media post, the military announced it “carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip”.

Humanitarian chiefs are deeply sceptical that airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis facing Gaza’s more than two million inhabitants.

Several Western and Arab governments carried out airdrops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective.