Deir al-Balah: Israel’s military announced Sunday that it would initiate daily “tactical pauses” in three densely populated areas of Gaza, Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and Muwasi from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm local time, to facilitate the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid. The move comes amid intensifying international pressure over mounting hunger and surging civilian casualties in the ongoing 21-month war.
The Israeli military said the pauses aim “to increase the scale of humanitarian aid” and will be accompanied by secure routes for United Nations convoys. The pause, effective from Sunday, follows alarming reports of starvation and malnutrition-related deaths in the besieged territory.
The Israeli military also said Sunday that it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages containing flour, sugar, and canned food. These drops, requested by Jordan and supported by the United Arab Emirates and Britain, are intended to reach populations inaccessible by land. The military stated that these airdrops are coordinated with international aid organisations.
Food security experts have warned for months about the risk of famine in Gaza, where over 2 million people, mostly displaced and squeezed into shrinking habitable areas, depend almost entirely on humanitarian aid. Health workers, weakened by hunger themselves, are reportedly using intravenous drips to remain fit enough to treat severely malnourished patients. Parents have shown their emaciated children, and wounded men described risking their lives under gunfire while attempting to access food.
Despite the announced humanitarian measures, Israel emphasised that combat operations against Hamas have not ceased. “The military emphasises that combat operations have not ceased,” the statement read. “There is no starvation,” it added, even as images of skeletal children and mass hunger continue to fuel global outrage.
The steps came days after ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas faltered. On Friday, both Israel and the United States withdrew their negotiating teams, accusing Hamas of stalling. Israel subsequently said it was considering “alternative options” to secure the release of hostages.
Since the end of the last ceasefire in March, Israel had imposed a total blockade on food, medicine, fuel, and other supplies to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages. Under international pressure, it began easing the blockade in May, allowing in around 4,500 aid trucks — an average of 69 trucks per day. This remains significantly below the 500 to 600 trucks per day the United Nations says are needed.
UN officials say the situation on the ground is dire. The organisation has struggled to distribute the limited aid arriving due to chaos, looting, and a lack of security, with its operations further hampered by repeated Israeli criticism and strikes on Hamas-run police, who previously helped secure aid convoys.
To bypass the UN, Israel has supported the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.-registered group that opened four distribution centres in May. However, the UN human rights office says over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to access food near these new aid sites.
“More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near those new aid sites,” said the UN human rights office. Israel has accused the UN of allowing aid to be stolen by Hamas, though it has provided no concrete evidence. The UN has firmly rejected the claim and defended its delivery mechanisms as the most reliable means to assist civilians.
On Saturday night, the military announced plans for humanitarian corridors in addition to airdrops. However, it did not specify the locations of these corridors or the timing of the operations.
Meanwhile, violence continues across the Strip. Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed at least 53 Palestinians from Friday night into Saturday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and local ambulance services. Witnesses say many of the victims were attempting to reach aid distribution sites.
At the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza, at least a dozen people waiting for aid were shot dead by Israeli forces. The military said it fired warning shots to “distance a crowd in response to an immediate threat." One witness, Sherif Abu Aisha, described the horror: “We went because there is no food ... and nothing was distributed,” he said, adding that his uncle was among the dead. “We saw a light and thought aid trucks had come, but it was tanks. Then they started firing.”
Later that evening, Israeli forces fired at Palestinians trying to approach a United Nations convoy, killing at least 11 people and injuring 120, according to Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of Shifa Hospital. “We are expecting the numbers to surge in the next few hours,” he said.
In southern Khan Younis, at least nine people were shot dead while approaching aid through the Morag corridor. Elsewhere, airstrikes killed at least four people in a Gaza City apartment building and eight more, including four children, in the Muwasi tent camp.
In one tragic scene captured on video, Palestinian men carried the body of a man who had been trying to retrieve food. “You die to fetch some food for your children,” said a visibly exhausted Fayez Abu Riyala.
Despite ongoing efforts to bring relief, critics remain sceptical. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned that “airdrops are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians,” stressing that these measures do not address the root of the humanitarian catastrophe.
The United Nations reports that its work is being hindered by Israeli-imposed movement restrictions and rampant looting. Hamas police, who once helped secure aid convoys, can no longer function after being repeatedly targeted by airstrikes.
More than two dozen Western-aligned nations and over 100 humanitarian and rights groups have called for an end to the war and condemned the blockade and new aid delivery model. Their staff report difficulty in accessing even minimal food supplies.
“We only want enough food to end our hunger,” said Wael Shaaban at a charity kitchen in Gaza City, attempting to feed his family of six.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 hostages. Hamas continues to hold about 50 hostages, more than half of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel's subsequent military response has killed over 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, reports that more than half of the casualties are women and children. Despite Israel's objections, the United Nations and other international organisations consider the ministry the most reliable source of casualty data.
In the latest development, an activist boat named Handala attempted to reach Gaza with aid and livestreamed Israeli forces boarding it around midnight. There has been no official Israeli comment on the incident.
With PTI inputs