Israel announces military pause on Gaza road to let in aid
The Israeli military has announced a daily “tactical pause of military activity” along a key road in southern Gaza to allow more humanitarian aid to enter. However, they emphasised that this is not a ceasefire and combat operations in Rafah will continue.
These pauses, which started on Saturday, will run from 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT) until 19:00 local time each day until further notice. The pause affects a route leading north from the Kerem Shalom crossing, which Gaza shares with Israel.
A UN spokesperson welcomed the announcement but noted that it has not yet resulted in more aid reaching the ground.
Israel has been under continuous pressure from allies to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the decision followed “additional related discussions with the UN and international organizations.”
The route of the humanitarian pause runs from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Salah al-Din Road—a main highway—and then north to the European Hospital near Khan Younis.
In a post on X, the IDF clarified that there is no ceasefire in southern Gaza, and fighting will continue in Rafah.
ActionAid, which helps deliver supplies in Gaza, said the pause could aid their efforts but requested more details about the logistics. “We’re still getting confused pictures around what these tactical pauses mean, how it will enable aid, not only to get inside the Gaza Strip, but to be distributed safely to the civilians there who need it,” said Ziad Issa, a spokesperson for ActionAid.
He added that there have been “significant attacks on aid convoys trying to get to Gaza from Kerem Shalom in the last few weeks.”
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the United Nations’ humanitarian office (OCHA), told AFP that while the organization welcomed the announcement, “this has yet to translate into more aid reaching people in need.”