Israel has agreed to impose a daily “pause” in northern Gaza starting Thursday, the White House said, despite Joe Biden believing there was “no possibility” for a ceasefire.
• Also read: Hamas leader visits Egypt to discuss situation in Gaza
• Also read: Drone of unknown origin hits school in Israel
• Also read: Fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, thousands of civilians are fleeing
“Israel will begin implementing four-hour daily breaks in certain areas of the northern Gaza Strip, which will be announced three hours in advance,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the Gaza National Security Council at the White House.
“The Israelis told us that there would be no military operations in these areas for the duration of the pause (and) that this device would launch today,” he added on Thursday.
When asked by the press about the significance of this announcement, an Israeli army spokesman replied: “This is not a change.”
“These are local tactical pauses for humanitarian assistance that are limited in time and space,” Richard Hecht added, without providing further details.
Since Sunday, a safe “evacuation corridor,” as the Israeli army calls it, has been set up in Gaza for several hours a day to allow civilians to move from the north to the south of the territory.
According to the Israeli army, more than 50,000 people followed this route again on Thursday – an almost identical number to the previous day – to leave the north of the Gaza Strip, where military clashes with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas are currently concentrated.
However, during this period, the Hamas Ministry of Health in Gaza reported deaths and injuries in Israeli attacks on these areas.
Still referring to the pauses mentioned by the White House, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared on Thursday evening: “We will not stop the fire as long as there are hostages in Gaza.”
Joe Biden is urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to provide humanitarian pauses to allow Palestinian civilians to escape fighting since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Democratic president thereby asserted that he had asked Mr. Netanyahu for “a break of more than three days” during a call.
In the north of the Gaza Strip, including in the heart of Gaza City, ground fighting is currently raging between the Israeli army and Hamas, accompanied by bomb attacks.
However, Joe Biden estimated that there was “no possibility” for a ceasefire in Gaza and spoke to reporters before departing for Illinois (North).
Gaza has been under siege since Hamas’s unprecedented violent attack in Israel on October 7, which left more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, dead.
According to the Hamas Health Ministry, the Israeli attacks claimed more than 10,000 lives, mostly civilians.