UN says humanitarian pauses to fighting agreed by Israel are ‘cynical and cruel’

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, describes Israel’s decision to allow a four-hour humanitarian pause each day in combat operations in northern Gaza to allow civilians to flee to the south as “very cynical and cruel.”

“There has been continuous bombings, 6,000 bombs every week on the Gaza Strip, on this tiny piece of land where people are trapped and the destruction is massive. There won’t be any way back after what Israel is doing to the Gaza Strip,” Albanese tells reporters in Adelaide, Australia.

“So four hours ceasefire, yes, to let people breathe and to remember what is the sound of life without bombing before starting bombing them again. It’s very cynical and cruel.”

Israel agreed to US demands for the localized pauses that will take place in a different northern Gaza neighborhood each day, with residents notified three hours ahead of time. They will be able to use this time to either evacuate to the south via the two humanitarian corridors that Israel has established or leave their homes in order to restock on food, medicine and other aid, the senior Israeli official said.

Israel has been urging Palestinians to leave northern Gaza since the start of the war more than a month ago.

More than 100,000 Palestinians have taken advantage of the breaks to move south on safe routes in recent days.