Daily Limited Military Pause Begins in Gaza Amid Starvation Concerns
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The Israeli military began limited 10-hour pauses in fighting across three areas of Gaza on Sunday to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
"Let me be clear: Israel supports aid for civilians, not for Hamas. The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to support the flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza," IDF spokesperson BG Effie Defrin told Newsweek in an email Sunday.
Why It Matters
Mounting international pressure on Israel to allow aid into Gaza follows a surge in reports and images showing widespread starvation among Palestinians.
Humanitarian aid groups have warned for months that Gaza is nearing famine. Israel, which controls the entry of aid into the enclave, has severely restricted access—tightening constraints even further since the collapse of the last ceasefire in March. From March to mid-May, no aid was allowed into Gaza.
The limited pauses come just days after Israeli forces killed around 100 Palestinians in multiple incidents near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza as they sought food aid. Israel's military has said it fired warning shots to distance a crowd "in response to an immediate threat."
What To Know
The Israeli military announced a "tactical pause" in three regions of Gaza "where the IDF is not operating": Deir al-Balah, Gaza City, and Muwasi. The cessation of fighting between 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. is to allow humanitarian aid to reach the three areas.
The Israeli military says there will be "designated secure routes" in place permanently from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. to "enable the safe passage of UN and humanitarian aid organization convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine to the population across Gaza."
In accordance with directives from the political echelon, and as part of the IDF's ongoing effort, led by COGAT, to increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, a local tactical pause in military activity will take place for humanitarian purposes from 10:00 to 20:00,... pic.twitter.com/y7gTmtfidj — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 27, 2025
Food airdrops commenced Saturday night, with nearly 25 tons of food and supplies dropped. The IDF said in a Saturday update that aerial airdrops resumed with "7 pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food."
Defrin said on Sunday: "We are facilitating its [food aid] entry every single day. Over 250 trucks were transferred this week alone, coordinated and approved by Israel."
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said in a Sunday statement that it "welcomes" the development and "has enough food in- or on its way to - the region to feed the entire population of 2.1 million people for almost three months."
Since May, the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) has been responsible for aid delivery, with the distribution sites turning into deadly encounters. The United Nations estimates that Israel has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since May.
"Severe acute malnutrition is surging and almost a third of families miss meals for days at a time," the WFP warned. One in five children in Gaza City is malnourished, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), noted.
Israel has repeatedly rejected claims of forced starvation in Gaza. In May, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied people are starving in Gaza, saying that Israel takes "thousands of prisoners" from Gaza and photograph them, and you "don't see one, not one, emaciated."
The IDF said in a Saturday X post that "there is no starvation in Gaza; this is a false campaign promoted by Hamas."
Fighting in Gaza continues as Israel and Hamas have been unable to come to a ceasefire agreement. The Trump administration cut short ceasefire negotiations on Thursday, stating Hamas "shows a lack of desire" to reach a truce with Israel. Hamas is believed to have around 50 hostages from its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Gaza City, Gaza Strip on July 27.
Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Gaza City, Gaza Strip on July 27.
AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi
What People Are Saying
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, per the Associated Press: "Whichever path we choose, we will have to continue to allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies."
The WFP said in an X post on Sunday: "Food aid is the only real way for most people inside Gaza to eat. A third of the population is not eating for days. Some 470,000 people are enduring famine-like conditions. 90,000 women and children need urgent nutrition treatment. People are dying due to a lack of humanitarian assistance."
David Lammy, secretary of state for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, said in a Sunday statement: "The humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached new depths. The Prime Minister has already announced plans to work with Jordan to get aid into Gaza and to evacuate children who need critical medical assistance to the UK for treatment. Today's announcement of a temporary pause by the IDF to allow humanitarian corridors to open and aid drops to resume is essential but long overdue."
Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam's regional policy lead, said in a Sunday statement: "Deadly airdrops and a trickle of trucks won't undo months of engineered starvation in Gaza. What's needed is the immediate opening of all crossings for full, unhindered, safe aid delivery across all of Gaza and a permanent ceasefire. Anything less risks being little more than a tactical gesture."
Save the Children International said in an X post: "Israel's "tactical pause" may help children in #Gaza, but a day or two of food is not enough. 133 people, 87 of them children, have already died of malnutrition and starvation. We need a ceasefire and safe, sustained aid. Our supplies are ready."
What Happens Next?
The military said the pause is in effect until further notice. Peace talks between Hamas and Israel remain stalled.
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