(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Israel Sunday announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies into the enclave, where images of starving Palestinians have alarmed the world.
Israel has been facing growing international criticism, which the government rejects, over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas have broken off with no deal in sight.
US President Donald Trump, on a visit to Scotland, said Israel would have to make a decision on its next steps in Gaza, and he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas.
Military activity will stop from 10am to 8pm until further notice in Al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian area along the coast, in central Deir al-Balah and in Gaza City, to the north.
The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6 am and 11pm starting from Sunday.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the fighting.
In their first airdrop in months, Jordan and the UAE parachuted 25 tonnes of aid into Gaza yesterday.
Palestinian health officials in Gaza City said at least 10 people were injured by falling aid boxes.
Work on a UAE project to run a new pipeline that will supply water from a desalination facility in neighbouring Egypt to around 600,000 Gazans along the coast would also begin in a few days, the Israeli military said.
Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The ministry reported six new deaths over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total deaths from malnutrition and hunger since the war began in 2023 to 133, including 87 children.
Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2mn people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation has increased.
A group of 25 states including Britain, France and Canada last week said Israel's denial of aid was unacceptable.
Israel cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March to pressure Hamas into giving up dozens of hostages it still holds and reopened it with new restrictions in May.
Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in central Gaza said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people waiting for aid trucks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies whether it is fighting or negotiating a ceasefire and vowed to press on with the campaign until "complete victory".
The Israeli offensive has killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials.

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