IDF announces ‘daily’ ceasefire, defense minister furious

Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir blasts decision as “crazy and delusional.”

By World Israel News Staff

The Israeli army announced Sunday morning that it would cease fighting in the Rafah area for several hours each day in order to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the Strip, sparking harsh pushback from lawmakers and triggering a hasty clarification.

An official army press statement stated that the military would implement a “tactical pause” from eight a.m. until seven p.m. on a daily basis along a key Rafah road, until further notice, to facilitate the entry of additional aid from the Kerem Shalom crossing into the coastal enclave.

According to a Ynet report, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was incensed, as he was not informed of the decision in advance and only learned about the new policy when it was announced to the public.

Gallant was particularly angry about the timing of the announcement, as 10 soldiers were killed in Gaza in two separate incidents over the weekend, and an additional soldier died of wounds he sustained in battle several days earlier.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir blasted the policy in a statement, saying that it had not been presented to the cabinet for approval and was reflective of a failed, pre-October 7th mentality in the military.

“It’s time to…stop the crazy and delusional approach [to warfare] that only brings us more dead and fallen” soldiers, Ben-Gvir said, adding that the military official who gave the green-light to the pause is a “fool who should not stay in his position.”

The backlash appeared to have rattled the IDF spokesperson’s department, as the military then released a subsequent statement claiming that its earlier announcement had been incorrect.

“There is no cessation of fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, and the fighting in Rafah continues,” read the later IDF statement.

“Additionally, there is no change in the introduction of goods into the Gaza Strip. The road carrying the goods will be open during the day in coordination with international organizations for the transportation of humanitarian aid only.”

The IDF did not clarify whether or not it would still pause operations along the road where the aid is transported.