Israel began airdrops of aid into Gaza Sunday, and ten-hour humanitarian pauses in fighting to allow the United Nations to distribute aid that had been laying dormant after its admission into the territory.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement (original emphasis):
In accordance with directives from the political echelon, and as part of the IDF’s ongoing effort, led by COGAT, to increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, a local tactical pause in military activity will take place for humanitarian purposes from 10:00 to 20:00, starting today (Sunday).
The pause will begin in the areas where the IDF is not operating: Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City, every day until further notice.
This decision was coordinated with the UN and international organizations following discussions regarding the matter.
In addition, designated secure routes will be in place permanently from 06:00 to 23:00 to enable the safe passage of UN and humanitarian aid organization convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine to the population across the Gaza Strip.
The IDF will continue to support humanitarian efforts alongside ongoing maneuvering and offensive operations against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, in order to protect Israeli civilians. The IDF is prepared to expand the scale of this activity as required.
Israel had maintained, until this weekend, that there was no starvation in Gaza, noting that Hamas had been hoarding aid, and that groups like the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) had been able to deliver aid.
However, it appears to have changed tactics, owing perhaps to international pressure that might have forced Israel to stop fighting Hamas if starvation did, in fact, begin to occur. Israel is trying to destroy the remnants of Hamas while seeking to liberate the remaining 50 Israeli hostages, 20 of whom are thought to be alive. The GHF does not yet operate fully in northern Gaza, pockets of which are still controlled by Hamas terrorists.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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