The Israeli military will conduct daily four-hour pauses in its fighting in northern Gaza to benefit civilians, the Biden administration announced on Thursday.

Israeli forces urged more than a million civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate south weeks ago, though not everyone has, and Hamas has, at times, prevented civilians from leaving. There has been international concern that Israel's displacement of Palestinians could amount to a war crime, while the humanitarian situation has continued to deteriorate, with a lack of clean water, food, and limited supplies.

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"We understand that Israel will begin to implement four-hour pauses in areas of northern Gaza each day, with an announcement to be made three hours beforehand," National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters on Thursday. "We've been told by the Israelis that there will be no military operations in these areas over the duration of the pause and that this process is starting today."

Israeli forces are operating in Gaza, particularly in the north, where Hamas has its stronghold. Hamas has embedded itself into the civilian population and operates within a significant maze of tunnels underneath civilian and populated areas such as hospitals and schools.

"It's fighting an enemy that is embedded in the civilian population, using hospitals and civilian infrastructure in an effort to shield itself from accountability and to place the innocent Palestinian people at greater risk," he added. "At the same time, Israel has an obligation to fully comply with international law, and we believe these pauses are a step in the right direction, particularly to help ensure that civilians have an opportunity to reach safer areas away from the act of fighting."

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Israel's military response came after Hamas's unprecedented terrorist attack on Oct. 7, in which roughly 1,400 people were slaughtered. The overwhelming majority of victims were civilians, and many showed signs of torture. Israeli forces have responded with overwhelming force. They have launched thousands of airstrikes, which they say are to destroy Hamas and the group's underground tunnel system, despite a staggering civilian death toll.

“It’s taking a little longer than I hoped," President Joe Biden said, when asked if he was frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The United States has pushed Israel to implement temporary halts in fighting for humanitarian purposes while repeatedly stating its opposition to a ceasefire, which would effectively leave Hamas in power with its arsenal to prepare for future attacks.