The United States assured this Thursday that Israel agreed to allow daily four-hour “humanitarian breaks” in northern Gaza to allow civilians to leave.
In a call with reporters, White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby announced that Israel informed the US that during these pauses, which will begin this Thursday, “there will be no military operations.”
Israel “will begin holding four-hour pauses every day in areas of the northern Gaza Strip, which will be announced three hours in advance,” Kirby said.
“The Israelis told us that there would be no military operations in these areas while the pauses last (and) that this operation would begin today,” he added.
Biden was pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to carry out humanitarian pauses in their attacks to allow the Palestinian civilian population to escape.
The Democratic president assured that he had asked Netanyahu for “a pause of more than three days.” But Biden estimated, however, that “there is no possibility” of a ceasefire in Gaza, in statements to journalists before his departure to Illinois (northern).
(Also read: ‘There will be no ceasefire or fuel in Gaza without the release of hostages’: Netanyahu)
In his statements to reporters, Kirby admitted that there remains “concern” about the possibility of Hamas trying to prevent the departure of civilians.
In any case He called for civilians to try to leave the “active” areas of the conflict, and also considered it “crucial” that humanitarian aid be extended to the areas to which civilians move.
The White House spokesman recalled that the pauses in southern Gaza have allowed thousands of people to leave and the influx of humanitarian aid, but this aid must increase.
(You can read: G7 Foreign Ministers unanimously call for a humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip)
He thus assessed that 106 trucks have entered southern Gaza through the Rafah crossing in Egypt, but he hopes that this number will rise as soon as possible.
“We need to see more and we need to see more soon,” said Kirby, who considered that 150 trucks of humanitarian aid should enter a day, and although there are days when it is not possible, that should be, at least, the objective.
Kirby stressed that Israel is fighting an enemy – the Hamas militias – that is “embedded in the civilian population, using hospitals and civilian infrastructure in an effort to protect itself” and puts the “innocent Palestinian people” at greater risk.
But he also insisted that Israel has “the obligation to fully comply with international law” and considered that these humanitarian pauses are “a step in the right direction because they seek to give civilians” the opportunity to reach safer areas.
The Israelis told us there would be no military operations in these areas while the pauses last.
Asked if these pauses were part of a broader agreement that would involve the release of hostages, Kirby said he was not going to “negotiate” in public.
But he did emphasize that The US continues to work with its allies in the region to try to free the hostages and considered that these pauses will be “useful” for the “safe” exit of hostages if necessary.
(Keep reading: One month of the war between Israel and Hamas, which already leaves 11,000 dead: what comes next?)
But in any case they are already useful for other purposes such as the departure of civilians, their transfer to safe areas and the entry of aid, which is why he insisted that the United States “is glad” that Israel is willing to take this step that can serve for “multiple objectives.”
Kirby highlighted the direct involvement of US President Joe Biden, along with other administration officials, such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, in constant contacts with Israel that have allowed these decisions.
On the other hand, the White House spokesman reiterated that the United States does not believe that an indefinite occupation of Gaza by Israel is “in the best interest of Israel or the Palestinian people.” A position that, he stressed, “is not going to change.”
This Thursday, it was also learned that the head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who resides in Qatar, met in Egypt with the head of that country’s intelligence services.
His visit to Egypt coincides with the negotiations that, according to a close source, are taking place in Qatar to release the hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a truce of several days.
*With AFP and EFE
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