The Israeli military has begun a “tactical pause” in fighting in three areas of Gaza as part of steps it claims will address a worsening humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.
In a statement, the military said it has begun a “tactical suspension of military operations for humanitarian purposes” in al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City from 10am (07:00 GMT) to 8pm local time every day until further notice, beginning on Sunday.
The Israeli military claims it does not operate in these areas, but there have been fighting and strikes in all of them in recent weeks.
The military also said it would designate secure routes to help aid agencies deliver food and other supplies to people across Gaza, though the Israeli government denies there is starvation in the besieged enclave.
The military also said on Sunday it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food to stem the rising hunger.
The Israeli announcement to pause aerial bombardment and ground attacks came after months of aid agencies, rights experts and several governments warning of famine as Israel continued to restrict crucial aid for Gaza.
Global criticism, even by Israel’s close allies, has grown as hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks while trying to reach food distribution sites operated by a notorious group backed by Israel and the United States.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military also intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory, detaining 21 international activists and journalists and seizing all cargo, including baby formula, food and medicine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Sunday.
The coalition that operates the vessel Handala said the Israeli military “violently intercepted” it in international waters about 40 nautical miles (74km) from Gaza, cutting the cameras and communications, just before midnight on Saturday.
Israeli denial of starvation
Aid organisations said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza’s 2.2 million people, with food running out after Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March, before resuming them in May with new restrictions.
Dozens of Palestinians have died of malnutrition in the past few weeks, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. A total of 127 people have died due to malnutrition, including 85 children, since the start of the war, the ministry said.
At least five Palestinians starved to death on Saturday alone.
Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Jordan because the network has been banned in Israel and the occupied West Bank, said Israel, however, has been continuously denying that it is starving the Palestinian people in Gaza.
“Now, the Israeli military, in their statement, still says that they emphasise that there is ‘no starvation in Gaza’, and that they’re trying to refute these claims, even though they are now going to enact a new series of measures aimed at improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” she said.
“Israel has largely accused the United Nations of not distributing the aid trucks, while the UN has said that Israel has not allowed them to do so.”
Salhut said the Israeli announcement of a pause in attacks came after the Israeli political echelon directed the military to do so following a call within the Israeli prime minister’s security cabinet.
Israeli forces have killed at least 15 Palestinians in Gaza since the early hours of Sunday, a day after killing at least 71 people, including 42 aid seekers.
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