Israel declares Gaza fighting pause amid hunger crisis

Israel declared a 'tactical pause' in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the UN and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.
The military also said it had begun air-dropping food into the territory and rejected allegations it was using starvation as a weapon against Palestinian civilians.
In a statement, the army said it coordinated its decisions with the UN and international organisations to 'increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip'.
There was no immediate official response from the UN or non-governmental aid agencies operating in Gaza, and privately sceptical humanitarian sources said they were waiting to see the results on the ground of the Israeli announcement.
The pause in fighting would be limited to areas where the military says Israeli troops are not currently operating -- Al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah, and Gaza City -- and last from 10:00 am (0700 GMT) until 8:00 pm every day.
But the Israeli statement added that 'designated secure routes' had been opened across all of Gaza to enable the safe passage of UN and humanitarian aid organisation convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine.
Before Israel announced the airborne delivery of seven pallets of food, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops, and Britain said it would work with partners, including Jordan, to assist them.
On Saturday alone, the Palestinian civil defence agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centres.
'Starving civilians' -
Several Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective.
'Air drops will not reverse the deepening starvation,' said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. 'They are expensive, inefficient, and can even kill starving civilians.'
Israel's military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into Gaza, and alleges that UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting aid once it is inside the territory.
But humanitarian organisations accuse the army of imposing excessive restrictions while tightly controlling road access within Gaza.
A separate aid operation is underway through the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
But it has faced fierce international criticism after Israeli fire killed hundreds of Palestinians near distribution points.