{"id":75174,"date":"2024-06-17T23:28:21","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T23:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/17\/israel-pauses-daytime-offensive-in-part-of-gaza-raising-hopes-for-more-aid\/"},"modified":"2024-06-17T23:28:21","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T23:28:21","slug":"israel-pauses-daytime-offensive-in-part-of-gaza-raising-hopes-for-more-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/17\/israel-pauses-daytime-offensive-in-part-of-gaza-raising-hopes-for-more-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Pauses Daytime Offensive in Part of Gaza, Raising Hopes for More Aid"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/17\/multimedia\/17mideast-crisis-ledeall-wqbf\/17mideast-crisis-ledeall-wqbf-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Israel Pauses Daytime Offensive in Part of Gaza, Raising Hopes for More Aid\" title=\"Israel Pauses Daytime Offensive in Part of Gaza, Raising Hopes for More Aid\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Israeli military said on Monday that it had paused operations during daylight hours in parts of the southern Gaza Strip, as a new policy announced a day earlier appeared to take hold, along with cautious hopes that it would allow more food and other goods to reach desperate civilians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Aid workers said they hoped that the daily pause in the Israeli offensive would make it less dangerous to deliver vital supplies to areas in central and southern Gaza from Kerem Shalom, a key border crossing between Israel and Gaza, removing one of many obstacles to their beleaguered operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But aid agencies warned that other restrictions on movement, as well as lawlessness in the territory, would still make it difficult to meet the dire needs of Gazans struggling to survive after eight months of war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With stockpiles in southern Gaza dwindling, \u201cmaybe for a couple of weeks they\u2019ll have enough food, but if we cannot have access and sustain that, then that\u2019s going to be a big problem,\u201d said Carl Skau, the deputy director of the World Food Program, an arm of the United Nations that distributes food in Gaza. Food supplies in southern Gaza were \u201cmore stabilized a month ago, but we are really concerned now,\u201d said Mr. Skau, who visited Gaza last week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The shift in Israeli operations came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disbanded <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/14\/world\/middleeast\/israel-war-cabinet-gaza-netanyahu.html\" title=\"\">the war cabinet<\/a> he had formed after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks, an Israeli official said on Monday, highlighting the strains within his government over the future of Israel\u2019s military campaign in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The official characterized Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s decision as a largely symbolic move after two of the five members of the war cabinet, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, quit last week amid disagreements over the direction of the war. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/09\/world\/middleeast\/gantz-quits-israel-netanyahu.html\" title=\"\">The men, both former military chiefs<\/a>, are prominent members of the centrist opposition in Parliament to the right-wing government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Their departure left Mr. Netanyahu more isolated, hearing from a narrower range of voices, without the air of interparty unity the war cabinet had at least suggested. \u201cWhat he has now is more of an echo chamber,\u201d said Mitchell Barak, an Israeli pollster and analyst who worked as an aide to Mr. Netanyahu in the 1990s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dissolving the war cabinet \u201ccentralizes his power and solidifies it and makes it much more difficult for any mutiny,\u201d Mr. Barak said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It also renders moot the question of whether Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s far-right coalition partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the minister of national security, and Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, will join the war cabinet. Mr. Eisenkot had already complained that Mr. Ben-Gvir\u2019s influence had <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/06\/16\/world\/israel-gaza-war-hamas\/netanyahu-says-he-didnt-know-about-plans-to-pause-fighting-but-analysts-say-he-probably-approved-them?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">loomed over<\/a> the war cabinet\u2019s discussions, even though he was not a member.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After Mr. Gantz resigned, Mr. Ben-Gvir had lobbied for a seat on the war cabinet, writing on social media that it was \u201cabout time to take brave decisions, achieve true deterrence, and bring true safety to the residents of the south, north, and all of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For now, major decisions about the war in Gaza \u2014 like whether to agree to a cease-fire with Hamas \u2014 will still be put to a broader Israeli security cabinet, which includes Mr. Ben-Gvir and Mr. Smotrich. Both have argued strongly that Israel\u2019s military offensive in Gaza must continue until Hamas is destroyed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israel\u2019s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and close advisers to Mr. Netanyahu like Ron Dermer, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States who served as a nonvoting member of the war cabinet, will also continue to shape war policy. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Israeli military\u2019s pause in daylight operations in parts of southern Gaza was announced on Sunday, after aid groups had asked the military to make it easier for them to operate around the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza. It does not apply to areas of central Gaza where many Palestinians have fled the fighting in Rafah.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWhat we had asked for was windows to access Kerem Shalom without having to coordinate so closely with the I.D.F. \u2014 to be able to come and go, and the trucks to come and go, with more freedom,\u201d said Scott Anderson, the deputy Gaza director for UNRWA, the lead United Nations agency for Palestinians, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israel has argued that there are no limits on the amount of aid it allows to enter Gaza. It regularly blames disorganized aid groups \u2014 as well as theft by Hamas \u2014 for the failure to move food from Israeli to Palestinian control.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe think their main problem is logistical, and they\u2019re not doing enough to overcome those logistical problems,\u201d said Shimon Freedman, a spokesman for COGAT, the branch of the Israeli defense ministry that coordinates with aid groups.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have accused Israeli leaders of restricting aid delivery, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/20\/world\/middleeast\/icc-hamas-netanyahu.html\" title=\"\">seeking their arrest<\/a> on charges including the use of starvation as a weapon of war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Israel invaded Rafah in early May, it hindered aid groups\u2019 ability to distribute supplies from Israel and led to the closure of the lone aid route between Egypt and Gaza, at Rafah.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The closure of the Rafah crossing and fighting around it forced aid groups and commercial vendors to route more of their convoys through Israel, where trucks enter Gaza through the crossing at Kerem Shalom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Once the food is inside Gaza, humanitarian organizations transfer it to their own vehicles and distribute it. Those groups say that Israel does too little to ensure the safety of those delivering aid, citing attacks on aid convoys and workers, including Israeli airstrikes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Gaza has become <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/17\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-aid-workers-un.html?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">the deadliest place in the world<\/a> for aid workers, the United Nations said on Monday, with at least 250 killed since the war began in October, including almost 200 employees of the main U.N. agency operating there, UNRWA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Israeli military said on Monday that it had killed more than 500 combatants in Rafah since the offensive there began in early May, severely reducing the capacity of two of Hamas\u2019s four battalions in the city. The remaining two battalions were operating at a \u201cmedium level,\u201d the military said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israeli strikes have also damaged supply routes in Gaza, hindering the passage of convoys, and crowds of desperate Gazans often intercept trucks in search of food. Cash shortages have prevented many civilians from buying food brought into Gaza by commercial convoys.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And as summer approaches, there is a rising need for more clean drinking water, said Mr. Anderson, the deputy Gaza director for UNRWA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In recent weeks, Israel has allowed aid groups greater access to northern Gaza, where fears of famine were once highest, opening up more access points to the north. Aid groups say that sanitation and health care are still woefully inadequate in northern Gaza, even if food supplies have improved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe were driving through rivers of sewage everywhere,\u201d said Mr. Skau, the W.F.P. official.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As Israel continues operations in Gaza, it also is continuing to trade fire with militants from Hezbollah, a powerful militia backed by Iran that operates in southern Lebanon and has been striking areas in northern Israel in support of Hamas for months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In recent days, the strikes by both Israel and Hezbollah have intensified, raising fears they could ignite another full-blown war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Monday, a White House official, Amos J. Hochstein, met in Israel with Mr. Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders as the Biden administration seeks to prevent a broader conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Hochstein will also meet with officials in Lebanon\u2019s capital, Beirut, according to John F. Kirby, the White House national security spokesman. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to see escalation,\u201d Mr. Kirby told reporters in Washington. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to see a second front.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/17\/world\/middleeast\/israel-gaza-pause-border-crossing.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Israeli military said on Monday that it had paused operations during daylight hours in parts of the southern Gaza Strip, as a new policy announced a day earlier appeared to take hold, along with cautious hopes that it would allow more food and other goods to reach desperate civilians. Aid workers said they hoped [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/17\/multimedia\/17mideast-crisis-ledeall-wqbf\/17mideast-crisis-ledeall-wqbf-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[41,35094,43,5791,38,9054,3651,21702,5798],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75176,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75174\/revisions\/75176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}