OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
3:12 PM – Thursday, November 9, 2023
The White House announced that Israel has agreed to implement four-hour humanitarian pauses each day in the warfare in northern Gaza in order to help remaining civilians flee the area.
On Thursday, the White House announced that Israel has consented to put in place a four-hour daily humanitarian pause regarding its retaliation attacks on the terrorist group, Hamas.
The daily four-hour pauses were put in place on Thursday.
On Monday, President Joe Biden pushed Israeli officials to allow for a multi-day stoppage in an endeavor to release hostages held by Hamas.
“I’ve asked for even a longer pause for some of them,” Biden said, regarding his request for a ceasefire to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Additionally, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that Hamas had rejected freeing around 240 hostages who are still being detained by the terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also maintained that Israeli officials agreed to communicate with one another throughout each four-hour window about three hours beforehand each day.
Kirby continued, saying that Israel had enabled access for civilians to flee the specified areas of the military campaign against Hamas. He also noted that the reprieves come after “a lot of personal engagement by the President with the Prime Minister.”
Kirby acknowledged that the steps Israel is taking are “good steps in the right direction” in regards to agreeing with international law and protecting the safety of civilians. Kirby also warned that Hamas may attempt to prevent or discourage civilians from leaving.
However, Israeli officials highlighted that there is no ceasefire in Gaza, noting that the pauses are only set in place for the purpose of allowing innocent civilians to move to the south of Gaza to acquire food, medicine, and other additional aid.
“There are tactical, local pauses for humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “These tactical pauses are limited in time and area. We are also providing humanitarian corridors for civilians in Gaza to temporarily move south to safer areas where they can receive humanitarian aid.”
In a separate statement, Netanyahu also claimed that the battle will continue and that there will be no ceasefire without the release of hostages.
“The fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said. “Israel is allowing safe passage through humanitarian corridors from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, which 50,000 Gazans utilized just yesterday. We once again call on the civilian population of Gaza to evacuate to the south.”
In Gaza, where a severe water shortage, a shortage of medical supplies, and packed shelters have left civilians in a dire situation.
Israel has been battling Hamas in Gaza since the terrorist organization initiated an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7th. Israel and the U.S. have continuously requested for the release of hostages held by Hamas.
“We are still optimistic…” Biden said on Thursday.
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