IDF says humanitarian pauses to continue in Gaza to allow Palestinians evacuate southward

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has announced that humanitarian pauses will continue in the northern Gaza Strip today to enable Palestinians to move south. IDF’s Arabic language spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee in a message to Gazans on X, formerly known as Twitter, said “The safe passage remains open today between nine in the morning (09:00) and four in the afternoon (16:00) for humanitarian purposes through the Salah al-Din axis towards the area south of Wadi Gaza.” “Please, for your safety, join the hundreds of thousands of residents who have moved south in recent days,” Adraee added.

He said that military activities in the region were temporarily suspended between 10 am and 2 pm. Meanwhile, Hamas has agreed to release over 70 women and children held hostage in Gaza. “Last week there was an effort from the Qatari brothers to release the enemy captives from women and children, in return for the release of 200 Palestinian children and 75 women detained by the enemy” Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, said in an audio recording posted on the group’s Telegram channel. “The truce should include a complete ceasefire and allow aid and humanitarian relief everywhere in the Gaza Strip,” he said. With inputs from agencies