The Israeli military on Sunday began a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day, part of a series of steps launched as concerns over surging hunger in the territory mount and as Israel faces a wave of international criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war.

Against the backdrop of a looming hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip, large-scale aid deliveries reached the besieged and embattled coastal area for the first time in months on Sunday. A convoy of some 100 lorries carrying goods for the suffering population entered the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom border crossing,