The Israeli army has announced that it would implement a daily “tactical pause of military activity” in part of the southern Gaza Strip during daylight hours to facilitate the delivery of aid, AFP reports.

The army said in a statement that “a local, tactical pause of military activity for humanitarian purposes will take place from 8am until 7pm every day until further notice along the road that leads from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah al-Din Road and then northwards”.

The decision was taken as part of efforts to “increase the volumes of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip” following discussions with the UN and other organisations, it said.

A map released by the army showed the declared humanitarian route extending until Rafah’s European Hospital, about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Kerem Shalom.

Israel has long defended its efforts to facilitate aid deliveries, including through the Kerem Shalom crossing, but humanitarian groups have warned for months about a dire lack of food and other essentials in the besieged Palestinian territory.

World Food Programme deputy executive director Carl Skau said recently that “with lawlessness inside the Strip… and active conflict”, it has become “close to impossible to deliver the level of aid that meets the growing demands on the ground”.