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06/16/2024June 16, 2024
Israel announces ‘tactical pauses’ in south Gaza
The Israeli army announced Sunday that it would hold a daily “tactical pause of military activity” in part of the southern to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave via a key border crossing.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the Israel Defense Forces said “a local, tactical pause of military activity for humanitarian purposes will take place from 08:00 until 19:00 (0500 GMT until 1600 GMT) every day until further notice along the road that leads from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah al-Din Road and then northward.”
The statement said the move aimed to “increase the volumes of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip” following discussions with the UN and other organizations.
Aid groups have long complained that they have been unable to deliver much-needed supplies to the Palestinian territory amid ongoing fighting there.
The route described in the statement runs south of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, whereIsrael’s army is that it says aim to root out remaining militants holed up in the area.
The operations in Rafah have met with much international condemnation, as many Palestinian civilians had sought refuge in the city from fighting elsewhere in the territory.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza comes in response to raids in the country’s south carried out by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 last year in which some 1,200 Israelis died and more than 250 hostages were taken.
tj/ab (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)
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