Israel announces 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza Strip

Yahoo

4 days ago

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has said it would implement "humanitarian pauses" to allow the distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning.
The pause would apply to "civilian centers and in humanitarian corridors" in Gaza, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on X late on Saturday.
Despite fierce international criticism, Israel has been allowing very little aid into the coastal strip.
The ministry went on say that, while "Israel has continued to facilitate the entry of aid trucks into the Gaza strip," the United Nations "failed so far to collect and distribute the large amount of aid trucks that are stored in designated areas inside of the Gaza strip."
The Israeli ministry said that the UN now would "collect and distribute the large quantities of aid, without any further delay or excuses."
"Israel rejects the false accusations of 'starvation' propaganda initiated by Hamas which manipulates pictures of children suffering from terminal diseases. It is shameful," the ministry said.
The UN has been contradicting the Israeli claim that the organization was refusing to distribute food.
"We are not trying to prevent all these people, including our own people, from getting food. They're being held up by different obstacles, including those placed by the Israeli authorities," UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday.
Haq added that the multi-stage approval process by the Israeli military was very cumbersome, with significant delays, often resulting in nightfall before the reloaded goods could set off.
Earlier on Saturday evening, the Israeli military said that it wanted to resume airdrops of aid supplies over the Gaza Strip and also wants to enable the delivery of food and medicine by the UN via humanitarian corridors.
The Israeli military also said that a drinking water treatment plant in the Gaza Strip has also been reconnected to the Israeli power grid.
At the same time, Israeli authorities said that fighting would continue in order to free all hostages and defeat Palestinian militant organization Hamas.
The first airdrop of relief supplies was due to take place on Saturday night, but it only involved seven pallets of relief supplies, including flour, sugar and tinned food, according to COGAT, the Israeli military authority responsible for approving and coordinating aid transports.
The operation is to be carried out in coordination with international aid organizations.
But volunteers point out that delivery by air is considered the most expensive and ineffective form of humanitarian aid delivery - also because it usually involves relatively small quantities.
Before the military's announcement that Israel would resume airdrops, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said his country would resume air drops "immediately."
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical and unprecedented level," the minister said in a post on X.
"We will ensure essential aid reaches those most in need, whether through land, air or sea. Air drops are resuming once more, immediately. Our commitment to alleviating suffering and providing support is resolute and unwavering."
Around 2 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, most of whom are in urgent need of aid.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a deadly hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip. Numerous other aid organizations are also warning of this.
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