The Israeli army announced a “tactical pause” in the offensive in the southern Gaza Strip to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. The stoppage will begin in the Rafah area at 8:00 am and will remain in force until 7:00 pm, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) explained, adding that will take place every day until further notice.
The pause, as we read in the Guardian, has the purpose of allow humanitarian trucks to reach the nearby Kerem Shalom crossingthe main entry point for incoming aid controlled by Israel, and of travel safely north along the Salah a-Din Highway, to deliver supplies to other parts of Gaza. The pause is aimed at “increasing the volume of humanitarian aid” arriving in the besieged Palestinian territory, the IDF said, adding that it was coordinated with the United Nations and international aid agencies.
After eight months of fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas militants, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) warns that people in the southern part of the Gaza Strip could soon suffer the same terrible levels of hunger as those found in the north of Gaza. Carl Skau, the agency’s deputy executive director, said Friday that while progress was being made in the north, the situation was deteriorating again in the south. The United Nations relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) said on Saturday that more than 50,000 children in Gaza require treatment for acute malnutrition.
Another 2 soldiers died yesterday in combat
The Israeli army has meanwhile announced thatand two more reservists were killed yesterday when their tank was attacked in northern Gaza. According to Time of Israel, the 28-year-old and the 49-year-old, serving in the 129th battalion of the 8th reserve armored brigade, died when an explosive device was detonated against their tank. Two other soldiers were seriously injured in the attack.
This brings the toll of soldiers killed yesterday in the Palestinian enclave to 10in what is the episode with the heaviest toll for the IDF in the enclave since January.
The death of the eight Israeli soldiers is “the heartbreaking price of our just war to defend the homeland”, said Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing his “deep condolences”, but insisting that “despite the heavy and shocking price, we must maintain the objectives of war”.
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