A pause to “increase the volume of humanitarian aid entering” Gaza, according to the IDF. “A local tactical pause in military activity for humanitarian reasons will be observed from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (local hour) every day and until further notice”, from the Israeli entry point of Kerem Shalom to the Salah al-Dine road then towards the north, the Israeli army indicated this Sunday morning in a press release.
The decision was taken as part of efforts to “increase the volume of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip” following discussions with the UN and other organizations, she said. “The Israeli army will continue to support humanitarian efforts on the ground,” continues the Israeli army.
Little hope of a truce
It comes at a time when on the diplomatic front, hopes for a ceasefire seem to be fading due to the contradictory demands of Israel and Hamas which leave little chance of seeing the plan announced at the end of May by the US President Joe Biden.
The Israeli army announced the death this Saturday of eight soldiers in the Gaza Strip, where the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has continued to rage for more than eight months. The armored vehicle in which the soldiers were “was hit by a bomb explosion,” the army said.
“Our hearts are broken by these terrible losses,” responded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement. But, he assured, “we must stick to the objectives of the war: destroy the military and governmental capacities of Hamas, recover all our hostages, ensure that Gaza no longer constitutes a threat to Israel (…) “.
According to the UN, famine threatens the Gaza Strip where 75% of the approximately 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced by the war. More than 8,000 children under the age of five have been treated for acute malnutrition in Gaza, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
While elsewhere in the world, Muslims are preparing to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the major Muslim holiday, starting this Sunday, Palestinians in Gaza are deploring the multiple shortages of basic necessities in the besieged territory. “In previous years (for Eid), we prepared sweets, new clothes for the children, or we bought (…) meat, fish and other delicious foods,” recalls bitterly Asmaa al -Masri, a resident of Jabaliya (north) who was displaced to Beit Hanoun, a nearby town.