The Israel Defense Forces announced Friday that the localized tactical pauses of military activity that have been taking place daily in several locations throughout the Gaza Strip to facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid would no longer apply to Gaza City, ahead of a major offensive there.

The military described the area as a “dangerous combat zone” in a statement announcing the change.

In late July, amid surging food prices in Gaza and international outcry over widening starvation, Israel announced a series of measures to increase the supply of humanitarian aid available to civilians in the enclave. Among the moves was the institution of ten-hour daily pauses in fighting in swathes of the Strip, as well as the creation of new aid corridors and airdrop operations.

The IDF said Friday that it would continue supporting aid distribution efforts across the enclave — with the exception of Gaza City — while simultaneously carrying out “offensive operations against terror groups in Gaza to protect Israeli civilians.”

The military is gearing up for an offensive which aims to capture Gaza City, where an estimated one million Palestinians — or roughly half of the enclave’s population — are currently centered. The IDF has urged civilians to evacuate the city and move south.

Jerusalem is moving forward with the plan, despite broad international opposition — with the exception of the US — as well as anger at home among many citizens who feel the move poses unjustified risk to the remaining hostages, as well as to soldiers, and favor a comprehensive deal with the Hamas terror group to return the captives in exchange for an end to the war.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met United Nations World Food Programme executive director Cindy McCain in Jerusalem, and said in a joint statement that they had agreed to “redouble efforts to expedite and sustain the entry of humanitarian goods into Gaza given the dire needs on the ground.”

The meeting came days after the global hunger monitor Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared for the first time that famine had struck the densely populated northern Gaza Strip, a finding rejected by Israel.

IDF: Terror squad killed in Zeitoun, observation post struck

Also Friday, the IDF said in a statement that troops operating in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City had “identified a squad of terrorists who were hiding in a military structure about 100 meters (yards) from them.”

The Israeli troops “directed an Air Force aircraft to attack the structure and eliminated the terrorists,” the statement said, attaching of the incident.

Additionally, an observation post aimed at IDF forces was struck, the military said, publishing footage of that attack as well.

On Thursday night, the military said IDF troops operating in Zeitoun had discovered and destroyed a roughly one-kilometer-long (0.6 miles) Hamas tunnel equipped with living quarters and weapons.

Soldiers from the 7th Brigade, under the 99th Division, located the underground tunnel during operations on the outskirts of Gaza City. According to the IDF, the tunnel was used by Hamas operatives for military purposes.

In addition, the brigade, working alongside the Israeli Air Force, dismantled other terrorist infrastructure, seized additional weapons and neutralized several terror operatives who posed a threat to troops in the area, the IDF said.

The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, of whom 48 are still held, 20-22 of whom are believed to be alive.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 62,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during and immediately following the October 7 onslaught.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.

Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 460. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.