Sawt Falasteen - Israel says opening routes into Gaza to increase food aid

The military also said it had begun air-dropping food into the territory and angrily rejected allegations it was using starvation as a weapon against Palestinian civilians.

In a statement, the army said it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to "increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip".

The Oxfam aid agency's regional policy chief, Bushra Khalidi, described the Israeli decision as a "welcome first step" but warned it could yet prove insufficient to resolve the crisis.

"Starvation won't be solved by a few trucks or airdrops. What's needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open, and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza," she told AFP.

- 'Life's wish' -

"We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege, and clear guarantees that this isn't just a temporary gesture. Right now, it's unclear how this will actually materialise on the ground."

In the Tel al-Hawa district of Gaza City, 30-year-old Suad Ishtaywi said she hoped aid trucks would now be able to reach her family's tent encampment.

"My life's wish has become to eat a loaf of bread and to be able to provide bread for my children to eat," she told AFP, complaining her husband comes back daily from fruitless trips to aid distribution points.

Also in Gaza City, 44-year-old Mohammed al-Daduh said: "We hope the aid comes in today, because hunger is killing us day by day. Egypt said it would send aid, but we don't know if Israel will allow it in."

Egyptian aid trucks had begun crossing into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, AFP journalists saw.

The pause in fighting will be limited to areas where the military says Israeli troops are not currently operating -- Al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City -- and last from 10:00 am (0700 GMT) until 8:00 pm every day.

But the Israeli statement added that "designated secure routes" had also been opened across all of Gaza to enable the safe passage of UN and humanitarian aid organisation convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine.

The Israeli military said these operations, alongside its ongoing campaign against Palestinian armed groups, should disprove "the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip".

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants after finding "reasonable grounds" to suspect the criminal responsibility of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant in actions that included the crime of using starvation as a method of war.

The Israeli leaders furiously denied their large-scale assault on Gaza in the wake of the Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel broke international law.

But the humanitarian situation inside Gaza has since deteriorated further and on March 2 Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza after ceasefire talks broke down. More than 100 NGOs warned this week of "mass starvation".

In late May, Israel began allowing a trickle of aid to resume, but UN and humanitarian agencies accuse the army of imposing excessive restrictions, while tightly controlling road access within Gaza.

Before Israel announced the airborne delivery of seven pallets of food, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops and Britain said it would work with partners including Jordan to assist them.

- 'Immediate' airdrops -

On Saturday alone, the Palestinian civil defence agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centres.

In a social media post, the Israeli military announced it "carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip".

Humanitarian chiefs are deeply sceptical that airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants.

A number of Western and Arab governments carried out airdrops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective.

"Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. "They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians."

Israel's military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into Gaza, and alleges UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting aid once it is inside the territory.

- Mounting death toll -

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.

The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

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