Israel pauses military activity at Gaza aid sites as starvation and killings mount

Israel’s military announced early Sunday that it will temporarily halt its assault on parts of the Gaza Strip and establish humanitarian corridors for aid.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the move amid a growing international outcry over a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and allegations that Israeli forces are starving the enclave’s population.

The IDF said it will pause operations from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City, and will allow food and medicine to safely enter the territory between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., according to a post on X.

It said the “tactical pause” in hostilities would only apply to non-combatant zones while operations would continue elsewhere, but it did not clarify which military activities were being suspended in those zones.

Pressure has been growing on Israel to increase access to aid in the besieged enclave since it resumed its bombardment and ground offensive earlier this year.

Aid agencies have accused Israel of blocking access to their convoys, leaving Gazans to rely on aid distribution points in Israel-controlled militarized zones run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Gaza health officials and former GHF officials have accused Israeli troops of repeatedly firing on and killing people trying to receive aid at such sites.

Some 127 people have died from malnutrition, among them 85 children, since the start of the war in 2023, according to local health officials. Ha’aretz reported on Sunday that 38 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces Sunday morning in spite of the supposed pause in military activities.

On Sunday, Israel also launched airdrops to deliver aid in what it described as a bid to alleviate hunger in the Gaza Strip.

As the crisis has heightened in the region, Western leaders have stepped up their criticism of the Israeli leadership and increasingly distanced themselves from the military campaign in Gaza.

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood, leading to calls for similar moves in the U.K., Germany and Italy. Norway, Ireland and Spain recognized the Palestinian state last year.

Israel and the U.S. abandoned ceasefire negotiations on Friday, saying that Hamas was not interested in a deal.

Israeli forces have killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including large numbers of civilians, according to the enclave’s health ministry, since Israel retaliated against the attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, by the militant group Hamas, which killed some 1,200 Israelis.