Israel has agreed to implement a four-hour daily humanitarian pause in its offensive against Hamas terrorists in northern Gaza to allow ordinary Palestinians to flee the fighting zone, the White House said Thursday.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a conference call that the Jewish state would announce a safe window at least three hours in advance.
“We have been told by the Israeli side that there will be no military operations in this area during the pause period, and this process begins today,” Kirby said.
“We believe this pause is a step in the right direction, especially to help ensure that civilians have the opportunity to reach areas that are safer from hostilities.”
The White House has repeatedly insisted that the pause is different from the ceasefire that pro-Hamas activists have called for around the world since the Israel Defense Forces began responding after the deadly Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,400 people, including at least 33 Americans.
Kirby added that the ultimate goal of the pause is to find a way to free “all 239 hostages” that Hamas has taken. That number is believed to include fewer than 10 Americans, although the Biden administration declined to provide an exact figure.
Palestinians who moved to the south of the Gaza Strip, make their way along Salah al-Din Street in Bureij.HAITHAM IMAD/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The Israeli army has already implemented a “tactical pause” to allow the evacuation. Reuters
President Biden told reporters on the South Lawn that he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “pause for more than three days” when the two leaders spoke by phone on Monday.
When asked if he was disappointed by Netanyahu’s resistance to the idea, Biden admitted that “it took longer than I expected.”
The commander-in-chief added that there was still “no possibility” of a general ceasefire in the month-long conflict.
An injured boy is carried after an Israeli attack in Deir Al-Balah, south of the Gaza Strip. AP Kirby Kirby said the ultimate goal of the pause was to find a way to free “all 239 hostages” taken by Hamas.REUTERS
Netanyahu’s office reiterated Thursday that no ceasefire will be enacted without the release of the hostages.
Along with the four-hour pause, the Israeli army agreed to open two humanitarian routes in northern Gaza, each of which could funnel thousands of people to safety in the south.
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Israeli prime ministerial officials said this route had been used for mass evacuations during recent IDF advances.
“Israel allowed safe passage through the humanitarian corridor from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south, which was used by 50,000 Gazans just yesterday. We once again call on the civilian population of Gaza to move south,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Palestinians receive food in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.AP Palestinians who moved to the south of the Gaza Strip, travel along Salah al-Din Street in Bureij. HAITHAM IMAD/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
To ensure civilians will heed the call to flee, US officials have called for humanitarian aid to continue flowing into Gaza in response to complaints from non-profit groups about shortages of food and other basic supplies in the Palestinian enclave.
“We need to see more,” said Kirby, who noted that 106 aid trucks had entered Gaza on Wednesday. “We should see more soon, with a target of no less than 150 trucks per day, continuously, every day.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
