Tel Aviv - An Israeli Defence Ministry official said that, starting at 1 pm (1100 GMT), a "humanitarian lull" will go into effect in the Gaza Strip to allow people to stock up on food. Peter Lerner said that the lull would last three hours. It had initially been expected to start at 12 pm, but was pushed back.
Lerner also said that aid trucks would be allowed into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
This would be the third consecutive day with such a lull, which Palestinians have used to go shopping.
However, a shortage of cash in the Gaza Strip, as Israel is blocking transfers, was affecting people's ability to buy food, residents said.
A senior official with the International Monetary Fund told Deutsche Presse-Agentur