Israel says it's opening routes to allow aid convoys into Gaza Strip

Israel declared a “tactical pause” in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the UN and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.

- Agence France-Presse

The military also said it had begun airdropping food into the Palestinian territory and dismissed allegations of using starvation as a weapon against civilians.

It said it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip”.

UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed the pauses, saying on social media he was in “contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window”.

The charity Oxfam's regional policy chief Bushra Khalidi called the move a “welcome first step” but warned it could prove insufficient.

“Starvation won't be solved by a few trucks or airdrops,” she said. “What's needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open, and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza. “We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege.”

'Life's wish'

In Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa district, 30-year-old Suad Ishtaywi said her “life's wish” was to simply feed her children.

She spoke of her husband returning empty-handed from aid points daily.

“We hope the aid comes in today, because hunger is killing us day by day,” said 44-year-old Mohammed al-Daduh, also in Gaza City.

“Egypt said it would send aid, but we don't know if Israel will allow it in.”