The Israeli army announced on Sunday its intention to observe until further notice a pause in its operations in an area of southern Gaza to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory devastated by more than eight months of war and threatened with famine.
After eight months of incessant and intense bombardments on the Gaza Strip, the north and center of the Palestinian territory have experienced a moment of respite since Sunday morning, without information on raids or fighting, according to AFP correspondents. But shots and a strike hit Rafah (South).
“It’s suddenly been calm since this morning, no gunshots, no bombing, it’s strange,” confides Haiti al-Ghouta, 30, in the city of Gaza (North), hoping that this heralds a cessation. -permanent fire.
But the army insisted that despite “the tactical pause”, “there is clearly no cessation of hostilities in southern Gaza and operations in Rafah continue”.
The pause was announced the day after the death of 11 Israeli soldiers, including eight in a bomb explosion in the Gaza Strip, where the war was triggered by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on October 7.
It “will be observed from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (5 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern Time) daily and until further notice,” in the area from Kerem Shalom, a crossing in southern Israel to to the Salaheddine road in Gaza then towards the north of the Palestinian territory, according to the army.
Kerem Shalom is located on the southern edge of Gaza. A map released by the army shows the declared humanitarian route extending to the European hospital in Rafah, 10 km from Kerem Shalom.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE ISRAEL ARMY
A map showing the humanitarian route that Israel intends to follow
The pause was decided to allow an “increase in the volume of humanitarian aid entering Gaza”, the army said.
“Terrible losses”
The UN “welcomes” this measure but asks that it “lead to other concrete measures” to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, said Jens Laerke, the spokesperson for the UN agency for emergency situations. emergency (OCHA).
The international organization has constantly affirmed that aid is very difficult to transport and distribute to the population who lack water, food and medicine, due to bombings, fighting and Israeli restrictions.
PHOTO TSAFRIR ABAYOV, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A truck entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, May 30
“The person who made the decision to institute a pause while our soldiers are falling in battle is evil and stupid […] “, denounced the far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
On Saturday, the army announced the death of eight soldiers whose armored vehicle was “hit by the explosion of a bomb” in Rafah, two soldiers in northern Gaza and another who succumbed to his injuries, one of the worst tolls for the army in a single day.
PHOTO MENAHEM KAHANA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Members of the Israeli security forces carry the coffin of Wasim Mahmud, one of eight soldiers killed the day before in Rafah, during his funeral in Beit Jann on June 16.
“Our hearts are broken by these terrible losses,” responded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But “we must stick to the objectives of the war: to destroy Hamas’s capabilities, to recover all our hostages, to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel. »
His Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is due to go to Washington soon.
On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza into southern Israel carried out an attack which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. Of 251 people kidnapped, 116 are still held hostage in Gaza, of whom 41 are dead, according to the army.
In retaliation, the Israeli army launched a large-scale offensive in Gaza that left 37,296 people dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.
“A completely different Eid”
As Muslims around the world celebrate the first day of Eid al-Adha, Palestinians in Gaza are not in the mood for celebration.
On Sunday in Gaza City, dozens of worshipers prayed in front of the al-Omari mosque, damaged by Israeli bombing. Other Palestinians gathered near the graves of loved ones killed in the war.
PHOTO OMAR AL-QATTAA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
To mark the start of Eid al-Adha, worshipers prayed in front of the al-Omari mosque, damaged by Israeli bombing, on June 16 in Gaza.
“Eid is completely different” this year, Oum Mohammad al-Katri told AFP, in the Jabalia refugee camp near Gaza. “We have lost a lot of people, there is a lot of destruction. And I’m grieving, I lost my son. »
The Gaza Strip, besieged by Israel, is in the grip of a major humanitarian crisis, where 75% of the approximately 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced by the war and where the population is threatened with famine according to the UN.
Conflicting requirements
Despite international mediation efforts, hopes for a ceasefire appear to be fading due to conflicting demands from Israel and Hamas.
American President Joe Biden announced on May 31 a plan which provides in a first phase, a six-week ceasefire accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas of Gaza, the release of certain hostages held in Gaza and the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
He presented this plan as coming from Israel. But Mr. Netanyahu deemed it incomplete, reaffirming his determination to continue the war until the defeat of Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007 and which he considers a terrorist organization along with the United States. and the European Union.
Mr. Biden accused Hamas of blocking the offer.
According to a source close to the discussions, Hamas demanded “amendments” to the plan, including “a timetable for a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.” Conditions that Israel has always rejected.