Israel’s Daily Combat Pause in Part of Gaza: How Is It Working?

[Pelican Press 0]

*******’s Daily Combat Pause in Part of Gaza: How Is It Working?

******* has said that the partial daily suspension of its military activity in a part of southern Gaza, which began over the weekend, is aimed at making it safer for humanitarian groups to deliver aid in the territory.

Here’s a look at how the pause works and whether aid workers believe it is likely to alleviate civilian suffering that the ******* Nations says borders on famine.

What did ******* say?

The military said on Sunday it had paused operations during daylight hours in parts of southern Gaza. The policy applies to a seven-mile-long strip of southeastern Gaza surrounding a major stretch of road.

It does not include coastal areas where Palestinians have fled since ******* began an invasion of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza in early May.

Has the pause made a difference?

Aid groups say the pause has appeared to take hold, but will not automatically translate into the free flow of aid.

Supplies are held at warehouses in Gaza before distribution within the territory. Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, said on Tuesday that it was “almost impossible” to find warehouses in Rafah, a hub of the aid effort and the city closest to the main border crossing, because many had been destroyed or were inaccessible.

A spokesman for *******’s military, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said on Tuesday that 1,400 trucks of aid that had been transferred from ******* into Gaza “remain uncollected” by international organizations. Before the war, the enclave had received around 500 trucks of food and other goods per day, according to the U.N. humanitarian affairs office.

The entry of aid and commercial goods through the two main crossing points into Gaza, Rafah and Kerem Shalom, has fluctuated in recent months, but it has never reached the daily levels that humanitarian officials say are needed to tackle a worsening hunger crisis. The International Rescue Committee, which works in Gaza, said that since the ******** offensive into Rafah began, “the situation has plumbed new depths.”

Aid groups welcomed *******’s announcement but some expressed skepticism, saying that previous measures had turned out to be false dawns. It wasn’t clear how long the daily pauses would remain in effect. Aid officials said that only a total cease-***** can help end the hunger crisis.

What obstacles remain to delivering aid?

Aid groups say that other steps are required beyond the partial pause. These include more routes open to both goods and aid personnel, not least because ************ health workers have to be trained in treating people suffering from acute malnutrition.

******* inspects goods entering Gaza to screen out items that could potentially be used by ******; aid groups say these checks are onerous and should be streamlined. In addition, many of Gaza’s roads are impassable, blocked by the rubble of destroyed buildings or pocked with ***** craters.

In the absence of a cease-*****, aid groups say that ******* should improve its system for communicating about the movement of people and goods within Gaza. This would help avoid attacks on aid convoys, which in some cases have occurred even when humanitarian officials say the ******** authorities were informed in advance of their movements.

Aid groups also say that it is necessary to improve the supply of water, electricity and fuel.

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