The Israeli occupation authorities announced that they have decided to impose a "humanitarian truce" for several hours today, Sunday, in the Gaza Strip, starting at 10:00 a.m. (Jerusalem time) and ending in the evening. The truce will not cover the entire Strip.

The Israeli occupation's broadcasting authority reported that, following a limited consultation held by occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with so-called Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and other officials, it was decided to impose a "humanitarian truce" for several hours amid international pressure.

For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement on Saturday that the signs of famine in the southern Gaza Strip have exceeded all expectations and sounded the alarm on the extreme danger now threatening the lives of over two million Palestinians living in the Strip.

The ministry stressed that the international response to these signs has so far failed to match the level of crimes committed by the occupation forces against Palestinian civilians in Gaza—particularly those carried out at the entrances of aid distribution centers—which are being documented daily and confirmed by numerous eyewitnesses in full view of the international community.

The ministry stated, "We have repeatedly called on the international community to enforce a serious separation between all political developments in the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian aspect, which pertains to the basic rights of Palestinian civilians, including their right to food, water, and shelter as fundamental principles of human rights."

It renewed its call for "a moral awakening and humanitarian ethics capable of ensuring the sustainable entry of aid by land, sea, and air to halt the accelerating spread of deadly famine among over two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," emphasizing that an immediate cessation of the occupation’s aggression and a ceasefire is the shortest path to protecting civilians from all the lethal dangers surrounding them.

It is worth noting that the Gaza Strip is suffering from starvation due to the ongoing genocide war waged by the Israeli occupation since October 2023, in addition to the continued closure of crossings and the blocking of humanitarian aid, exacerbating the suffering of Palestinians there.

On another front, the occupation army attacked the ship Handhala on Saturday, which carried international activists and was en route to Gaza to break the blockade.

The Government Media Office in Gaza condemned the occupation’s assault on the solidarity ship while it was sailing in international waters, stressing that this blatant aggression represents a gross violation of international law and maritime navigation rules. It further confirmed that the occupation continues to act as a lawless rogue force.

The office added that the storming of the ship targets every humanitarian initiative seeking to aid over 2.4 million besieged and starving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.