Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces on Sunday began a limited pause by fighting 10 hours a day in battles in three densely populated areas of Gaza. A series of steps It was launched as concern over a surge in hunger on Territory Mount, and as Israel faces a wave of international criticism for its actions in the 21-month war.
The military said it would launch a daily “tactical pause” in the city of Gaza in three regions of the territory, Dele Al Bala and Mwasi, in order to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid” that enters the territory. The suspension will begin daily from 10am to 8pm local time, until further notices begin Sunday.
Gaza city health officials said Israeli airstrikes in Gaza city apartments killed a woman and her four children shortly after the suspension began, indications of how unstable the situation is for Gaza people. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Palestinians are struggling to get donated meals in the community kitchen in Gaza city, northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, July 26, 2025 (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians carry bags of flour removed from humanitarian groups that arrived in Gaza from the Northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, July 26, 2025 (AP Photo/Jehad alshrafi)
Food experts have been warning for months of the risk of hunger in Gaza, where Israel is restricting aid, as Israel says it is sucking up its products to help Hamas strengthen its rules, without providing evidence of its claims.
Images emerging from Gaza in recent times of weakened children incited global criticism of Israel; By a close alliancewho sought the end of the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it created.
The United Nations Food Agency is calling for a wider ceasefire
Israel said new measures were taking place while continuing its attacks on Hamas in other regions. Gaza health officials said at least 37 Palestinians were killed in separate strikes from the end of Saturday until Sunday, including 22 people seeking assistance.
As part of the relaxed restrictions, the military also said it would introduce safe routes to provide assistance. He also said it had conducted an airdrop to Gaza, which included aid packages served with flour, sugar and canned food.
The UN Food Agency welcomed measures to ease aid restrictions, but said a wider ceasefire would be needed to reach everyone in Gaza.
Dr. Munir Al-Bursch, director of Gaza’s Ministry of Health, called for a flood of medical supplies and other products to help treat child malnutrition.
“This (humanitarian) ceasefire means nothing if it doesn’t turn into a real life-saving opportunity,” he said. “All delays are measured by another funeral.”
Questions remain about the fate of the ceasefire talks
The local pause in the battle came days after efforts to ceasefire between Israel and Hamas It looked suspicious. On Friday, Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams and denounced Hamas, saying Israel was considering “alternative options” to halt meetings with extremist groups.
Israel says that once Hamas surrenders, disarms and enters exile, it is ready to end the war. That the group refused to agree.
Hamas official Mahmoud Meldawi said that the change in the Tack against Israel’s humanitarian crisis amounted to the perception that there were Palestinians who were hungry for Gaza and that the move was intended to improve their international status and not save lives.
Palestinians carry bags of flour removed from humanitarian groups that arrived in Gaza from the Northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, July 26, 2025 (AP Photo/Jehad alshrafi)
He said Israel “will not escape punishment and will inevitably pay the price for these criminal practices.”
Israel has restricted aid to Gaza during the war
After ending its latest ceasefire in March, Israel had been aiming to completely block Gaza from invasions of food, medicines, fuel and other supplies for 2.5 months, and pressure Hamas to release hostages.
Under international pressure, Israel eased the lockdown a bit in May. Since then, it has been permitted in about 4,500 trucks for distribution by the United Nations and other aid groups. However, an average of 69 trucks per day is far below the UN’s required 500-600 trucks per day. The UN says it was unable to distribute much of the aid as it took most of it from the trucks where hungry crowds and gangs arrived.
Israel is a way to divert aid from UN control and repurpose its provision of aid. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation registered in the USIn May, four centers were opened and boxes of food supplies were distributed. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed The United Nations Human Rights Office has been trying to get food since May, mainly by Israeli forces while they are near these new aid sites.
Israel opposed the United Nations through the war, saying that its system allowed Hamas to steal aid. The United Nations denies its distribution mechanisms, claiming, is the best way to bring aid to Palestinians.
On Sunday, July 27, 2025, truck carrying humanitarian assistance into Rafa, crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)
The military said new measures are being taken in cooperation with the United Nations and other humanitarian groups.
Smoke rises from the northern Gaza explosion, as seen from southern Israel on Sunday, July 27, 2025 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Much of Gaza’s population has been squeezed by fighting patches of smaller lands and is now dependent on aid.
In a statement, the World Food Program said that a third of Gaza’s population of around 2 million people had not eaten for several days, and that nearly half a million have endured a hunger-like situation. It said that for about three months there was enough food in the area to feed everything in Gaza, or he had enough food on his way to the area.
Health officials say at least 37 Palestinians have been killed in the latest strike
AWDA hospital in Nuseirat said Israeli forces killed at least 12 people, including four children and one woman, and injured 101 people towards the GHF aid distribution site in central Gaza. The GHF denied any involvement in violence near the site and said there were no incidents on or near the site. The military said it is examining the report.
Another 10 people were killed in seeking assistance in multiple parts of Gaza, including Gaza City, where more than 50 people were injured, according to hospital staff and medical professionals.
The military has not commented immediately on the strike, but announced that two more soldiers were killed in Gaza on Sunday, bringing the total to 898 since October 7, 2023.
The war began with Hamas attacks on southern Israel in October 2023. Extremists killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. Hamas still holds 50 hostages, more than half of them are believed to be dead.
Israeli retaliatory attacks have killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The count does not distinguish between extremists and civilians, but the department says more than half of the deaths are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organizations consider it the most reliable source of data on victims.
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Goldenberg reported from Maggidi from Tel Aviv, Israel and Cairo.
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