Israel announces daily 10-hour humanitarian pause in parts of Gaza

JERUSALEM - The Israeli military on Sunday announced a daily 10-hour humanitarian pause in its operations in parts of the Gaza Strip, along with the opening of secure routes for aid delivery, amid growing international pressure over the deepening hunger crisis there.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it would halt military activity in areas including Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City, from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm local time (0700-1700 GMT) every day until further notice.

Designated secure routes will be open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (0300-2000 GMT) to ensure the safe passage of UN and humanitarian convoys, which deliver and distribute food and medicine, it added.

The military said the move followed "directives from the political echelon," in coordination with the United Nations and international aid organizations, to "increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Strip."

On Saturday night, the IDF said it resumed airdrops of food to the Strip to ease the humanitarian crisis there.

Since the latest round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, 127 people, including 85 children, have died from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza-based health authorities said Saturday.

The international condemnation of Israel is growing, with governments and aid groups alike denouncing its siege of Gaza as a humanitarian catastrophe.

The little aid allowed to reach supply facilities inside Gaza is "woefully inadequate" to curb starvation or sustain life-saving relief operations, UN humanitarians said on Thursday.