Israel begins a limited pause in fighting in 3 Gaza areas as concerns over hunger mount

DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP The Israeli military on Sunday began a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for hours a day part of a series of approaches that included multiple airdrops as concerns over surging hunger in the territory mount and Israel faces a wave of international criticism over its conduct in the -month war The military disclosed it would begin a daily tactical pause in Gaza City Deir al-Balah and Muwasi three areas of the territory with large populations to increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the territory The pause was running from a m to p m local time and was to be repeated each day until further notice In a sign of how precarious the situation remained for people in Gaza shortly after the pause began Gaza soundness leaders revealed an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Gaza City killed a woman and her four children A second strike killed four people including a young boy his mother and his grandfather in the eastern Zaytoun neighborhood physical condition officers commented The Israeli military had no immediate comment on either strike Food experts have warned for months of the hazard of famine in Gaza where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule without providing evidence for that claim Images emerging from Gaza in current days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel including by close allies who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned Every delay is measured by another funeral Israel announced the new measures were taking place while it continues its offensive against Hamas in other areas Vitality executives in Gaza revealed at least Palestinians were killed in separate strikes from late Saturday into Sunday including people seeking aid As part of the eased restrictions the military also noted that it would put in place secure routes for aid delivery It also noted it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza which included packages of aid with flour sugar and canned food Jordan reported it had carried out three airdrops over the skies of Gaza including one in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates It revealed the cargo planes had dropped tons of food and supplies on several locations in Gaza The United Nations food agency welcomed the procedures to ease aid restrictions but explained a broader ceasefire was needed to ensure goods reached everyone in need in Gaza UNICEF called it an opportunity to save lives Shaina Low communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council mentioned the latest moves remained far from adequate to address the staggering demands in Gaza She called for the opening of all crossings and unrestricted humanitarian access into Gaza Dr Muneer al-Boursh director general of Gaza s Healthcare Ministry called for a flood of curative supplies and other goods to help treat child malnutrition This humanitarian truce will mean nothing if it doesn t turn into a real opportunity to save lives he explained Every delay is measured by another funeral Negotiating teams recalled The local pause in fighting came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in doubt Israel and the U S recalled their negotiating teams from Qatar on Thursday blaming Hamas and Israel stated it was considering alternative options to ceasefire talks with the militant group Israel says it is prepared to end the war if Hamas surrenders disarms and goes into exile something the group has refused to agree to Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi mentioned that Israel s change of tack on the humanitarian predicament amounted to an acknowledgement that there were starving Palestinians in Gaza and that the move was meant to improve its international standing and not save lives He explained that Israel will not escape punishment and will inevitably pay the price for these criminal practices Famine-like conditions After ending the latest ceasefire in March Israel cut off the entry of food medicine fuel and other supplies entirely to Gaza for months saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages Under international pressure Israel slightly eased the blockade in May Since then it has allowed in around trucks for the U N and other aid groups to distribute The average of trucks a day however is far below the to trucks a day the U N says are needed for Gaza The U N says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because hungry crowds and gangs take most of of it from its arriving trucks As a way to divert aid delivery away from the U N s control Israel has backed the U S -registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation which in May opened four centers distributing boxes of food More than Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food mostly near those new aid sites the U N human rights office says Israel has railed against the U N throughout the war saying that its system allowed Hamas to steal aid The U N denies that claim and says its delivery mechanism was the best way to bring aid to Palestinians The military disclosed the new initiatives were made in coordination with the U N and other humanitarian groups Much of Gaza s population squeezed by fighting into ever tinier patches of land now relies on aid The World Food Operation stated that a third of Gaza s population of around million were not eating for days and nearly half a million were enduring famine-like conditions It mentioned it had enough food in or on its way to the region to feed all of Gaza for nearly three months At least killed in latest strikes The Awda Hospital in Nuseirat announced Israeli forces killed at least people including four children and a woman and wounded as they were headed toward a GHF aid distribution site in central Gaza GHF which denies involvement in any of the violence near its sites commented there were no incidents at or near its sites The military reported it was looking into the statement Ten other people were killed seeking aid in multiple areas of Gaza including northwestern Gaza City where more than people were wounded hospital officers and medics reported The military which had no immediate comment on the strikes disclosed Sunday that two more soldiers were killed in Gaza bringing the total number to since Oct The war began with Hamas October attack on southern Israel when militants killed people mostly civilians and took hostages Hamas still holds hostages more than half of them supposed to be dead Israel s retaliatory offensive has killed more than Palestinians according to Gaza s Vitality Ministry Its count doesn t distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children The ministry operates under the Hamas establishment The U N and other international organizations see it as the bulk reliable source of statistics on casualties Goldenberg communicated from Tel Aviv Israel and Magdy from Cairo Follow AP s war coverage at https apnews com hub israel-hamas-war Source