Israel has agreed to implement daily four-hour humanitarian pauses in its assault on Hamas terrorists in northern Gaza to allow ordinary Palestinians to flee the combat zone, the White House said Thursday.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a conference call that the Jewish state will announce the secure windows at least three hours in advance.
“The Israelis have told us that there will be no military operations in these areas for the duration of the pause, and that this process begins today,” Kirby said.
“We believe these pauses are a step in the right direction, particularly to help ensure that civilians have the opportunity to reach safer areas away from the act of combat.”
The White House has repeatedly insisted that the pauses are different from the ceasefire demanded by pro-Hamas activists around the world since the Israel Defense Forces began retaliating following the deadly Oct. 7 attack that killed more of 1,400 people, including at least 33 Americans.
Kirby added that the ultimate goal of the pauses would be to find a way to free “the 239 hostages” who were taken by Hamas. That figure is believed to include fewer than 10 Americans, although the Biden administration has declined to give a precise number.
Palestinians evacuating to the south of the Gaza Strip advance along Salah al-Din Street in Bureij.HAITHAM IMAD/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Israeli forces are already executing “tactical pauses” to allow evacuations. REUTERS
President Biden told reporters on the South Lawn that he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “a pause of more than three days” when the two leaders spoke by phone on Monday.
Asked if he was frustrated by Netanyahu’s resistance to the idea, Biden admitted that “it’s taken a little 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 child is carried after an Israeli attack in Deir Al-Balah, in the southern Gaza Strip. AP Kirby Kirby said the ultimate goal of the pauses would be to find a way to free “the 239 hostages” who were taken by Hamas.REUTERS
Netanyahu’s office reiterated Thursday that no ceasefire would be enacted without the release of the hostages.
In addition to the four-hour pauses, the Israeli military agreed to formalize two humanitarian routes in northern Gaza, each of which can funnel thousands of people to safe areas in the south.
Follow The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel.
The Israeli prime minister’s official said these passages have already been used for mass evacuations during recent IDF advances.
“Israel is allowing safe passage through humanitarian corridors from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south, which 50,000 Gazans used yesterday. “We once again call on Gaza’s civilian population to evacuate to the south,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Palestinians receive food in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.AP Palestinians evacuating to the south of the Gaza Strip, advance along Salah al-Din street in Bureij.HAITHAM IMAD/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
To ensure that civilians follow calls to flee, U.S. officials have called for a steady flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza in response to complaints from nonprofit groups about a lack 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 need to see more soon, with the goal of reaching no less than 150 trucks per day, continuously, every day.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn