Israel imposes "tactical pauses" in fighting in Gaza

The Israeli army announced a daily “tactical ceasefire” in some areas of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, in order to ease the work of the United Nations and international aid agencies, which are facing serious difficulties in delivering aid to civilians in Gaza due to the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

The IDF said the ceasefire would be in effect from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time in areas where Israeli forces are not currently conducting active hostilities. Israel also said it had opened “designated safe routes” throughout the Gaza Strip for convoys carrying food and medicine.

Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahira News reported on Sunday that humanitarian aid had begun arriving in Gaza from Egypt, following an Israeli airlift of food a few hours earlier.

The military says the moves are being coordinated with the United Nations and international humanitarian agencies.

Israel has denied accusations of using starvation as a means of repression, calling them "false and baseless," and said it would continue to pressure the Palestinian militant group Hamas to release the Israeli hostages it seized on October 7, 2023.