The Israeli army announced on Sunday its intention to observe until further notice a pause in its operations in an area of southern Gaza to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory devastated by more than eight months of war and threatened with famine.
This decision was made public the day after the death of 11 Israeli soldiers, including eight in a bomb explosion in the Gaza Strip, where the war, triggered by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on October 7, is raging.
The break “will be observed from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (5 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern Time) daily and until further notice,” in the area from Kerem Shalom, a crossing in southern Israel to ‘to the Salaheddine road in Gaza and then towards the north of the Palestinian territory, the army said.
Kerem Shalom is located on the southern edge of Gaza and the Salaheddine road runs along the territory from north to south. A map released by the military shows the declared humanitarian route extending to the European Hospital in Rafah, about 10 km from Kerem Shalom.
The pause was decided to allow an “increase in the volume of humanitarian aid entering Gaza,” the army said in a statement.
The UN says that aid entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing is very difficult to transport and distribute to the population who lack water, food and medicine, due to bombings and fighting.
According to AFP correspondents in Gaza, no strikes, bombings or fighting were reported early Sunday morning.
Even if the army wanted to emphasize “that there is clearly no cessation of hostilities in southern Gaza and that operations in Rafah continue.”
“The person who made the decision to call a pause while our soldiers are falling […] is evil and stupid,” denounced Israeli far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir. “It is time to put an end to this crazy and delusional approach […].”
On Saturday, the army announced the death of eight soldiers whose armored vehicle was “hit by the explosion of a bomb” in Rafah, two soldiers in northern Gaza and another who succumbed to his injuries, one of the worst tolls for the army in a single day.
“Our hearts are broken by these terrible losses,” responded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But “we must stick to the objectives of the war: to destroy Hamas’ capabilities, to recover all our hostages, to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” he said.
His Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is due to go to Washington soon.
The war was sparked on October 7 by the attack launched by Hamas from Gaza in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count compiled from official Israeli data. Of 251 people kidnapped, 116 are still held hostage in Gaza, of whom 41 are dead, according to the army.
In retaliation, the Israeli army launched a large-scale offensive in Gaza that left 37,296 people dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.
While Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, Palestinians in Gaza are not in the mood for celebration.
On Sunday in Gaza City, dozens of worshipers prayed in front of the al-Omari mosque, damaged by Israeli bombing. Other Palestinians gathered near the graves of loved ones killed in the war.
“Eid is completely different” this year, Oum Mohammad al-Katri told AFP, in the Jabalia refugee camp near Gaza. “We’ve lost a lot of people, there’s a lot of destruction. And I’m in mourning, I lost my son. »
The Gaza Strip, besieged by Israel, is in the grip of a major humanitarian crisis, where 75% of the approximately 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced by war and the population is threatened with famine according to the UN.
Despite international mediation efforts, hopes for a ceasefire seem to be fading due to contradictory demands from Israel and Hamas which leave little chance of seeing the plan announced on May 31 by the president come to fruition. American Joe Biden.
Mr. Biden presented this plan as coming from Israel. But Mr Netanyahu deemed it incomplete, reaffirming his determination to continue the war until the defeat of Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007 and which he considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union.
The American president accused Hamas of blocking the offer which provides in a first phase, a six-week ceasefire accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas of Gaza, the release of certain hostages held in Gaza and the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Hamas transmitted an initial response to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators, which according to a source close to the discussions, contains “amendments” to the plan, including “a timetable for a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.” Conditions that Israel has always rejected.
