“It could alleviate the suffering of many people in the southern Gaza Strip a little and at least temporarily spare them from new fighting: Israel's military announced "daily tactical pauses" on Sunday. Between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time (7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central European Time), the guns will be silent in selected parts of the coastal area, meaning that army operations will cease. Israel says it wants to enable the delivery of larger quantities of aid supplies. The ceasefire will apply to the route from the Kerem Shalom border crossing to Salah al-Din Street and then further north. The decision was made following consultations with the United Nations and other organizations, it said. […] Hans-Jakob Schindler believes it is plausible that the ceasefire is justified by humanitarian concerns. However, according to the senior director of the international Counter Extremism Project, military considerations are probably also behind the decision.”