A “tactical pause” is declared by the Israeli military in an effort to boost supplies entering Gaza.

There will be pauses every day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. till further notice. The military attack had not stopped despite the humanitarian pauses. The military declared that “there is no cessation of fighting” in Rafah.

TFD – The Israeli military has announced a daily “tactical pause” in its operations in the southern Gaza Strip to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. Starting at 8 a.m. and lasting until 7 p.m., this pause aims to allow relief vehicles safe passage to distribute much-needed supplies. Despite the pause, military actions in Rafah will continue, raising questions about the efficacy of this measure in alleviating the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Jerusalem — In order to facilitate the delivery of more humanitarian goods, the Israeli military declared on Sunday that it was going to take a “tactical pause” in its attack in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to the army, the standstill will take place in the Rafah region at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT, 1 a.m. eastern) and last until 7 p.m. (1600 GMT, noon eastern). It stated that until further notice, the pauses will occur daily.

The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, stated on X that the pauses did not signal the conclusion of the military’s offensive. “There is no cessation of fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, and the fighting in Rafah continues.”

The purpose of the delay, according to the IDF, is to give assistance vehicles enough time to go to the main entrance point for incoming help—the neighboring, Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing—and proceed safely to the Salah a-Din highway, a major north-south route, where they may distribute supplies to other areas of Gaza. It stated that coordination between the U.N. and foreign aid organizations was involved in the pause.

Since Israeli ground forces entered Rafah in early May, there has been a backlog at the crossing.

The route would improve the flow of aid to other areas of Gaza, including as Khan Younis, Muwasi, and central Gaza, according to COGAT, the Israeli military organization in charge of overseeing aid distribution in Gaza. Supplies entering via a northern crossing are supplying the heavily damaged northern Gaza, which was one of the war’s initial targets.

Following consultations with the United Nations and foreign humanitarian groups, the military announced the delay on Sunday, coinciding with the commencement of the big Eid Al-Adha festival observed by Muslims in Gaza and other parts of the world.

The military responded to criticism over the move from ultranationalists in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration who are against a break in the war by saying that fighting is not stopping in the remaining portion of southern Gaza and that there is no change in the general admission of supplies.

Requests for comment from aid organizations, including the United Nations, were not immediately answered. The U.N. agency for Palestinians’ director of Gaza affairs, Scott Anderson, expressed optimism to CNN that the cease-fire will “bring in much-needed aid for the population.”

The break along the southern route occurs while Israel and Hamas consider the most recent cease-fire proposal, which was outlined by President Joe Biden in the administration’s most focused diplomatic effort to end hostilities and free hostages kidnapped by the militant group. Even though Biden called the plan “Israeli,” Israel has not accepted it in its entirety, and Hamas has demanded modifications that Israel finds unacceptable.

Israel released the identities of 11 soldiers who have died in recent attacks in Gaza, including one who passed away from wounds received in an attack last week, while the violence has not stopped. That brings the total number of soldiers lost by Israel since it started its ground assault on Gaza last year to 308.

According to Israeli police, during its attack on October 7, Hamas killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others. Over 37,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict, according to health officials in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.

Following the terrorist organization’s strike on October 7, Israel launched an eight-month military campaign against Hamas. As a result, the U.N. has reported widespread hunger and hundreds of thousands of people on the verge of famine in Gaza.

The international community has criticized Israel for not doing enough to alleviate the situation and claimed that the continued fighting, which includes in Rafah, has made it more difficult to provide relief throughout the conflict.

According to data from the U.N. humanitarian office, or OCHA, the U.N. received an average of 68 trucks of aid per day between May 6 and June 6. That was significantly less than the 500 trucks per day that relief organizations claim are required, and it was down from 168 trucks per day in April.

As the demand for humanitarian help increased, the amount of supplies reaching southern Gaza decreased. Following the invasion, over a million Palestinians—many of whom had previously been displaced—left Rafah and crowded into other areas of central and southern Gaza. The majority currently live in dilapidated tent camps with open sewage in the streets and pits used as latrines.

According to COGAT, trucks are not subject to any entry restrictions. According to the report, between May 2 and June 13, over 8,600 trucks of all types—both commercial and humanitarian—entered Gaza across all borders, or 201 every day on average. However, most of that aid has not yet arrived at its intended location and is piled up at the crossings.

According to COGAT spokesman Shimon Freedman, the U.N. is to blame for the goods piling up on the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom. He claimed that the organizations, particularly the shortage of trucks, have “fundamental logistical problems that they have not fixed.”

The United Nations refutes these claims. It states that U.N. trucks operating inside Gaza are frequently unable to reach Kerem Shalom, which is directly adjacent to Israel’s border, due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Additionally, it states that the Israeli military’s requirement for driver authorization to enter the location has hampered the speed of delivery. Israel claims this system was put in place for the safety of the drivers. In several instances, aid trucks traveling through Gaza have also been robbed by crowds as a result of a lack of security.

By giving vehicles a daily 11-hour window to enter and exit the border without interruption, the new setup attempts to lessen the need for delivery coordination.

It was not immediately apparent if the army would guard the relief vehicles as they traveled down the route.