A Palestinian man distributes sweets to people next to the rubble of his house which was destroyed by Israeli warplanes, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2024. /CFP
The Israeli military said on Sunday it would hold daily tactical pauses in military activity along a main road in southern Gaza to allow more aid to flow into the Palestinian enclave, where international aid organizations have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis.
Fighting in the city of Rafah, where Israel is targeting the remaining brigades of Hamas, would continue, the military said.
It said military activity would be paused from 0500 GMT until 1600 GMT every day until further notice along the road that leads from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah al-Din Road and then northwards.
Despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire, an agreement to halt the fighting still appears distant, more than eight months since the start of the war in Gaza.
Iran-aligned Hezbollah in Lebanon opened a second front against Israel shortly after Hamas' October 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza. Fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border is now threatening to spiral into a wider conflict. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the border.
In a further sign that fighting in Gaza could drag on, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government said on Sunday it was extending until August 15 the period it would fund hotels and guest houses for residents evacuated from southern Israeli border towns.
Hamas led a rampage in southern Israel on October 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
At least 37,296 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign, according to the Gaza health ministry.