Israel announces ‘tactical pauses’ in parts of Gaza
The Israeli army says it will allow a “local tactical pause in military activities” in parts of Gaza for “humanitarian purposes” from 10am to 8pm, starting today.
The pauses will take place in al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City “every day until further notice”, it wrote on X. “The decision was coordinated with the UN and international organizations following discussions on the matter,” it added.
The Israeli military says it has designated “secure routes” in Gaza for aid delivery on a permanent basis. These routes will be safe from 6am to 11pm local time, “to enable the safe movement of UN and aid convoys for the delivery and distribution of food and medicine to the population throughout the Gaza Strip”, it added.
Israeli president welcomes military pauses in Gaza
Isaac Herzog made the comments in a statement on X. “I welcome the major steps announced by the Israeli leadership and military to strengthen and upgrade the humanitarian response in Gaza — particularly the decision to implement humanitarian pauses to protect civilian lives and allow the safe delivery of aid,” he wrote.
The Israeli president also called on the UN to do its part, suggesting inefficiency by the global body and aid diversions by Hamas were to blame for the food shortages in Gaza.
UN agencies have rejected those claims, noting that Israel – which controls all crossings into Gaza – continues to deny most of its requests to bring aid into the besieged enclave. They also say there is no evidence of large-scale diversion of aid by Hamas.
Which Israeli Military officials themselves have admitted, as well as USAID
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/world/middleeast/hamas-un-aid-theft.html
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-07-26/ty-article/idf-officials-say-no-evidence-hamas-systematically-stole-un-aid-in-gaza-nyt-reports/00000198-46ed-db91-a1df-efef44060000
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-862272
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/world/middleeast/hamas-un-aid-theft.html
https://abcnews.go.com/International/usaid-analysis-finds-evidence-widespread-aid-diversion-hamas/story?id=124092822
(Nice how they leave out the 'no' in the URL....)
UNRWA chief says aid diversion claims were part of effort to discredit humanitarian groups
Philippe Lazzarini has said that discredited Israeli claims that Hamas was stealing large quantities of aid were part of a wider campaign by Israel to box out humanitarian organisations like the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and seize greater control over aid distribution.
“No proof of aid diversion in Gaza,” he said in a social media post.
“Claims were only aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the humanitarian community & attempting to replace it with a diabolic and politically motivated distribution scheme. It’s time for principled and at scale humanitarian response including through UNRWA.”
No proof of aid diversion in #Gaza.
Claims were only aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the humanitarian community & attempting to replace it with a diabolic & politically motivated distribution scheme.
It’s time for principled & at scale humanitarian response including… https://t.co/5xJAMtrN1i
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 27, 2025
Meanwhile the US continues to back the GHF Last edited by SvennoJ - on 27 July 2025
