Top News

The Israeli military on Sunday declared a daily “tactical pause” in hostilities across three densely populated areas of Gaza — Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Al-Mawasi — from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid” entering the enclave. The army said the decision was coordinated with the United Nations and international aid organisations, though there was no immediate public response from them.

Israel also said it had opened “designated secure routes” across the Strip to facilitate the safe passage of UN and humanitarian convoys delivering food and medicines, insisting these steps — taken alongside its ongoing operations against Palestinian armed groups — should refute “the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip,” news agency AFP reported.

Separately, the military said it “carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip”. News agency AP reported that the drops included flour, sugar and canned food.

UN Says Aid Still Far Short; UNRWA Chief Calls Air Drops “Expensive, Inefficient”

Food security experts have warned for months of famine risk inside Gaza. Israel has sharply restricted aid flows, arguing that Hamas diverts supplies. Images of severely malnourished children have intensified global censure of Israel, including from close allies calling for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has produced.

Under international pressure, Israel slightly eased the blockade in May. Since then, around 4,500 trucks have entered for the UN and other aid agencies to distribute — averaging 69 a day — far below the 500–600 trucks the UN says are required, according to AP. The UN says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because hungry crowds and gangs seize most of it from arriving trucks.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), was sharply critical of the renewed emphasis on air drops. “Air drops will not reverse the deepening starvation,” he said. “They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians,” AFP reported.

Israel argues it does not cap the number of trucks entering Gaza and accuses UN agencies and relief groups of failing to collect aid once it is inside the enclave. Humanitarian organisations counter that the army imposes excessive restrictions and tightly controls road access.

As an alternative to UN-led delivery, Israel has backed the US-registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which opened four distribution centres in May. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to obtain food, mostly near those new aid sites, the UN human rights office says, according to AP. AFP added that the separate aid operation has drawn fierce international criticism after Israeli fire killed hundreds of Palestinians near distribution points.

At Least 16 Palestinians Killed In Latest Gaza Strikes, Say Health Officials

Despite the pause announcement, Israel said its offensive against Hamas would continue elsewhere. Ahead of Sunday’s pause, Gaza health officials said at least 16 Palestinians were killed in separate strikes, AP reported.

A strike on a tent sheltering a displaced family in the Asdaa area, northwest of Khan Younis, killed at least nine people, including a father and his two children, and another father and his son, according to Nasser Hospital. In Gaza City, a strike on an apartment late Saturday killed four people, including two women, the Health Ministry’s ambulance and emergency service said. Another strike in Deir al-Balah early Sunday killed a couple and a woman when a tent near a desalination plant was hit, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

On Saturday alone, more than 50 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some while waiting near aid distribution centres, the Palestinian civil defence agency said, according to AFP. “We ask God and our Arab brothers to work harder to reach a ceasefire before we all die,” Gaza resident Hossam Sobh told AFP, recounting how he feared death as he grabbed a bag of flour “under the nose of an Israeli tank”.

Gaza Ceasefire Talks Wobble; Activist Boat Intercepted At Sea

The localised pauses came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to stall. On Friday, Israel and the United States recalled their negotiating teams, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was weighing “alternative options” to the talks, AP reported. After ending the last ceasefire in March, Israel completely halted the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other supplies for two and a half months to pressure Hamas to release hostages.

Separately, Israeli troops boarded the Handala, a boat operated by activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, as it sailed towards Gaza to challenge Israel’s naval blockade. Live video feeds showing the interception were cut minutes later, AFP said.

The war erupted after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 assault on southern Israel.

AFP, citing official Israeli figures, put the Israeli death toll at 1,219, mostly civilians, with 251 hostages taken. Hamas still holds 50 hostages, more than half believed dead, AP reported. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 59,733 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, AP said.