Israel pauses Gaza strikes as aid airdrops resume
Israel announced a daily pause in military activity across parts of Gaza, offering new humanitarian corridors while Jordan and the UAE dropped 25 tonnes of aid for the starving population, as reported by France 24 via AFP and Reuters on July 27th.
The move follows images of starving civilians and growing international outrage, which Israel continues to dismiss. Despite indirect ceasefire talks in Doha collapsing with no breakthrough, the Israeli military introduced what it calls a “tactical pause” in Al-Mawasi, central Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the United Nations to stop blaming his government, stating: “There are secure routes. There have always been, but today it’s official. There will be no more excuses.” The military said secure corridors for food and medicine deliveries will operate between 6am and 11pm, alongside the suspension of military operations from 10am to 8pm.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher pledged intensified efforts: “Our teams on the ground … will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window.” Despite this, Palestinian health officials reported 17 dead and 50 wounded from Israeli fire while waiting for aid. The military has not commented.
Health authorities confirmed six new malnutrition-related deaths, including five-month-old Zainab Abu Haleeb. “Three months inside the hospital and this is what I get in return, that she is dead,” said her mother, Israa, beside the baby’s father holding the shrouded body.
The Egyptian Red Crescent dispatched over 100 trucks through Kerem Shalom carrying more than 1,200 metric tons of food. Aid groups condemned Israel’s “drip feeding of aid,” and Macron pledged France would recognise Palestine as a state.
Far-right Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, known for his extreme views, criticised the pause, calling it a surrender to Hamas and urged a full cut-off of aid. Hamas dismissed the pause, stating it was no humanitarian truce.
France 24 via AFP and Reuters, Maghrebi.org
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