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Five-hour ceasefire introduced in southern Gaza Strip — media

According to the news outlet, the goal is to make it possible to deliver humanitarian aid to the enclave and allow foreign nationals to leave Gaza

DUBAI, October 16. /TASS/. A five-hour ceasefire has been introduced in southern areas of the Gaza Strip, the Al Arabiya TV channel reports.

According to the news outlet, the goal is to make it possible to deliver humanitarian aid to the enclave and allow foreign nationals to leave Gaza.

The ceasefire will take effect at 9:00 a.m. local time (6:00 a.m. GMT); the parties to the conflict have agreed on the need to take such a step.

Al Arabiya points out that there are at least 100 trucks with aid at the Rafah crossing point on the border between Gaza and Egypt, waiting for a humanitarian corridor to be set up. The Israeli army still continues to carry out strikes on Gaza, the TV channel added.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again after Hamas militants infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7. The Palestinian movement described its attack as a response to the actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank. More than 2,700 Palestinians have been killed and about 10,800 have suffered wounds; in Israel, the death toll stands at about 1,500 and nearly 4,000 people have been wounded.