The United Nations welcomed Sunday an “Israeli” decision to "pause" fighting around a south Gaza route daily for aid deliveries, but urged more "concrete measures" to unblock the humanitarian response in the Strip.

"We welcome this announcement," UN aid agency spokesperson Jens Laerke said in an email to Agence France-Presse (AFP), noting though that "this has yet to translate into more aid reaching people in need".

"We hope this leads to further concrete measures by Israel to address longstanding issues preventing a meaningful humanitarian response in Gaza,” they added.