In order to address the Palestinian enclave’s worsening humanitarian situation, the Israeli military has set a “tactical pause” in fighting in three of Gaza’s three regions.
The military announced in a statement that it will start “tactical suspension of military operations for humanitarian purposes” from 10am (07:00 GMT) to 8pm local time every day starting on Sunday in al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah, and Gaza City.
Although the Israeli military claims that it doesn’t operate in these areas, fighting and strikes have recently broken out in all of them.
The Israeli government denies that the besieged enclave is starving, but the military added that it would designate safe routes to aid aid organizations in delivering food and other supplies to Gazan residents.
The military added that in order to combat the rising hunger in Gaza, it conducted aid airdrops on Sunday, including packages of aid that included flour, sugar, and canned goods.
After months of warnings from international aid organizations, rights experts, and various governments about famine as Israel continued to halt essential aid to Gaza, Israel made the decision to stop aerial bombardment and ground attacks.
As hundreds of Palestinians have been killed recently while attempting to reach food distribution centers run by a notorious group supported by Israel and the United States, the world has grown in criticism, even from Israel’s close allies.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition reported on Sunday that the Israeli military also intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship attempting to break the Israeli blockade of Palestinian territory, detained 21 international activists, journalists, and seize all cargo, including food and medicine, from the Israeli military.
The Israeli military “violently intercepted” the vessel in international waters, cutting the cameras and communications, just before midnight on Saturday, according to the coalition that runs the ship.
Israeli denying that they are starving
Aid organizations reported last week that 2.2 million Gazans were experiencing widespread hunger after Israel stopped all supplies in the area in March, and that the situation resumed with new restrictions in May.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, in recent weeks, scores of Palestinians have passed away from malnutrition. Since the start of the war, 85 children have died as a result of malnutrition, according to the ministry.
On Saturday alone, at least five Palestinians died from starvation.
Israel has consistently denied starving the Palestinian people in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, who reported from Jordan because the network has been banned in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
She continued, “The Israeli military insists that there is no starvation in Gaza and that they are trying to refute these claims in their statement, despite the fact that they are now enacting a new series of measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
Israel has largely accused the UN of not distributing the aid trucks, but Israel has claimed that it has not permitted them to do so.
Salhut claimed that the Israeli government’s security cabinet called for the military to stop attacking after the Israeli political elite had issued a command to do so.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply