Israel announces ‘pause’ along southern Gaza route to allow in aid but no let up in Rafah offensive

The Israeli military has announced a “tactical pause” of military activity along a route in southern Gaza to allow aid to be distributed but stressed that there would be no let up in fighting in and around Rafah in southern Gaza. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The pause began on Saturday and will take place every day from 8 a.m. until 7p.m. local time until further notice to allow trucks to move from the Kerem Shalom Crossing, the main entry point for incoming aid to southern Gaza, up the Salah al-Din Road and northwards, the IDF said.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has triggered a humanitarian crisis. A bottleneck of aid has built up at Kerem Shalom amid airstrikes and fighting in much of southern Gaza.

The IDF has designated a route from Kerem Shalom to Al Bayuk and onto the European Hospital in Khan Younis to be open during the day for the transportation of humanitarian aid only. It will be run in coordination with international organizations, it said, as part of efforts to increase volumes of aid reaching Gaza.

But soon after announcing the move, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said “the fighting in Rafah continues,” adding “there is no change in the entry of goods into the Strip.”

The fierce fighting that been underway in Rafah as Israel seeks to destroy Hamas in Gaza continued on Sunday, with a civil defense official in Gaza telling CNN that heavy clashes are ongoing in neighborhoods of western Rafah.

On Saturday, eight IDF soldiers were killed near the city, one of the single deadliest incidents of the war for Israeli troops.

The director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, Scott Anderson, welcomed the “tactical pause,” telling CNN “we very much hope that this long pause every day will allow us to move freely back and forth.”

But a spokesperson for the UN Children’s Fund warned the pause could not replace a ceasefire. “I just don’t know unfortunately [how long the pause will last], this is a question for the the occupying power, for Israel and its military,” said James Elder.

And Israel’s security minister Ben Gvir – a leading right-wing member of the cabinet – condemned the pause. “Whoever decided on a ‘tactical pause’ for the purpose of a humanitarian transition, especially at a time when the best of our soldiers are falling in battle, is an evil and a fool who should not continue to be in his position,” he said. smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc

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