Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in its assault on Hamas in northern Gaza starting on Thursday, November 9, the White House said, as President Joe Biden pressed Israelis for a multi-day stoppage in the fighting in a bid to release hostages held by the militant group.
Biden said Thursday that there was "no possibility" of a formal cease-fire at the moment, and said it had "taken a little longer" than he hoped for Israel to agree to the humanitarian pauses. Biden had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to institute the daily pauses during a Monday call and said he had also asked the Israelis for a pause of at least three days to allow for negotiations over the release of some hostages held by Hamas. "Yes," Biden said when asked whether he had asked Israel for a three-day pause. "I’ve asked for even a longer pause for some of them."
Israeli officials estimate that militants still hold 239 hostages, including children and the elderly, from the attack that also saw 1,400 Israelis killed. US officials say they believe fewer than 10 Americans are among those held captive. National Security Council spokesman Kirby told reporters Thursday that pauses could be useful to "getting all 239 hostages back with their families to include the less than 10 Americans that we know are being held. So if we can get all the hostages out, that’s a nice finite goal." "Humanitarian pauses can be useful in the transfer process," he added.
Kirby said that the first daily humanitarian pause would be announced Thursday and that the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance. Israel, he said, also was opening a second corridor for civilians to flee the areas that are the current focus of its military campaign against Hamas, with a coastal road joining the territory's main north-south highway.
Similar short-term pauses have occurred over the last several days as tens of thousands of civilians have fled southward, but Thursday’s announcement appeared to be an effort to formalize and expand the process, as the U.S. has pressed Israelis to take greater steps to protect civilians in Gaza.
French President Emmanuel Macron had opened a Gaza aid conference earlier on Thursday with an appeal for Israel to protect civilians, saying that "all lives have equal worth" and that fighting terrorism "can never be carried out without rules." Israel has not been invited by France to the conference. Kirby demurred when asked about the decision to leave Israel out of the international talks. "We’re focused on trying to have the most constructive conversation there that we can," Kirby said.