Netanyahu condemns daily ‘military pause’ by Israeli army to allow aid into Gaza

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, criticised plans announced by the military to hold daily tactical pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into Gaza to facilitate aid deliveries.

The military had announced daily pauses from 6am until 5pm BST in the area from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to north of the Salah al-Din Road.

“When the prime minister heard the reports of an 11-hour humanitarian pause in the morning, he turned to his military secretary and made it clear that this was unacceptable to him,” an Israeli official said.

The military clarified that normal operations would continue in Rafah, the main focus of its operation in southern Gaza, where eight soldiers were killed on Saturday.