Israel will soon slow or halt humanitarian aid into parts of northern Gaza as it expands its offensive attempting to cripple Hamas, an official said on Saturday.
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The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said that Israel would stop airdrops over Gaza City in the coming days and reduce the arrival of aid trucks into the northern part of the strip as it prepared to evacuate hundreds of thousands of residents south.
Israel on Friday declared Gaza City a combat zone, calling it a Hamas stronghold and alleging that a network of tunnels remained in use despite several previous large-scale raids on the area throughout the nearly 23-month long war.
The shift comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its offensive in the city, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering while enduring famine. In recent days, the military has ramped up strikes on the city’s outskirts. Video footage overnight Friday showed several large explosions across Gaza.
The military’s announcement to resume fighting came as the death toll in Gaza rose to more than 63,000 people. On Saturday, four people were killed by Israeli gunfire while trying to get aid in central Gaza, according to health officials at Awda hospital, where the bodies were brought.
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It was unclear when the pause in aid would begin and when the airdrops would fully stop. By Saturday, there had been no airdrops for several days across Gaza, a break from the almost daily drops for the past few weeks.