Key events
Israel’s new 10-hour military pause in parts of Gaza begins but UN warns measures are not enough to ‘stave off famine’
We are continuing our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza. Stick with us throughout the day as we provide the latest updates.
Responding to a global outcry provoked by reports and images of widespread starvation and malnutrition in Gaza, the Israeli military said yesterday that it had began a “tactical pause” in the densely populated areas of Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid” into the strip.
It said the pause would be repeated every day from 10am to 8pm local time until further notice. Today is due to bring the second of these pauses.
Soon after the first humanitarian pause began yesterday, Israel carried out an airstrike on a building in Gaza City, killing a woman and her four children.
Israel allowed a limited amount of airdrops into Gaza to resume over the weekend but charities have warned the amount is totally inadequate for the population’s needs. Israel, Jordan and the UAE all parachuted aid into the territory that has been devasted by relentless Israeli bombardments.
Israel has said humanitarian corridors would be established to facilitate the entry of UN aid trucks into Gaza, though the number of trucks that will be allowed in was not specified.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher welcomed Israel’s pledge to start daily humanitarian pauses, but said much more has to be done to alleviate the health crisis engulfing the territory.
In a statement published yesterday, he said:
We welcome Israel’s decision to support a one-week scale-up of aid, including lifting customs barriers on food, medicine and fuel from Egypt and the reported designation of secure routes for UN humanitarian convoys.
Some movement restrictions appear to have been eased today, with initial reports indicating that over 100 truckloads were collected.
This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis.