Israel to continue fighting despite US deal for humanitarian pauses

Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Israel would not stop fighting in Gaza despite the White House announcing a deal for humanitarian pauses on Thursday..

John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said Israel had agreed to halt its offensive in northern Gaza for four hours daily to allow Palestinians to flee and facilitate aid along two corridors.

Mr Kirby said the breaks, starting yesterday, could also be used for the release of hostages held by Hamas, hailing it as a significant step.

However, shortly after the US announcement, Eylon Levy, Mr Netanyahu’s spokesman, diverged from Washington’s claims, insisting he was “not going to commit to the exact length of the pauses”.

Mr Netanyahu’s office stressed that “the fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages”.

A statement said Israel had since Sunday been implementing “safe transit corridors” for people to flee Gaza City in the north of the strip.

The move by the White House appeared to be an effort to formalise the process which saw an estimated 50,000 flee heavy fighting on Wednesday.
 

The humanitarian pauses announced by the US stop short of a full ceasefire, despite pressure from humanitarian groups sounding the alarm over the plight of some 2.3 million people trapped in the enclave.
 

Joe Biden last night confirmed there was “no possibility” of a ceasefire in Gaza.

However, the US president revealed on Thursday night that he had pushed the Israeli prime minister for longer pauses in the fighting to secure the release of the estimated 240 hostages.

”I’ve asked for a pause longer than three days,” Mr Biden said, hinting at a rift with Mr Netanyahu.

Asked if he was frustrated with Mr Netanyahu, the president replied: “It’s taken a little longer than I hoped.”

Israeli media suggested the choice of language could be at the heart of the dispute.

Pressure high for retaliation

Mr Netanyahu’s government has been referring to its policy as humanitarian “corridors” rather than “pauses” to mitigate political fallout, with public pressure high for retaliation to the Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 people.

It came as the CIA and Mossad’s spy chiefs met Qatar’s prime minister to negotiate a possible hostage release deal and a pause in Israel’s Gaza offensive.

Around 240 people were abducted on October 7 during attacks in southern Israel by Hamas militants, including many foreign nationals.

William Burns, head of the CIA, flew into Doha to meet his Israeli counterpart, David Barnea, and Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss the “parameters of a deal”, sources told Reuters.

Qatar, home to Hamas’s political office, is reportedly trying to broker an agreement which would see the release of 10 to 15 hostages in exchange for a one- to two-day “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s military campaign.

On Thursday night, Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, released a video showing two hostages, a woman in her 70s and a 13-year-old boy, whom they pledged to release for “humanitarian” reasons when the “security conditions on the ground are met”.

The Israeli military called the video “psychological terrorism”, but said it would not pass up any chance to free hostages.

Calls for a ceasefire

Hamas, meanwhile, claimed an Israeli soldier held hostage by the terror group had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Israel is facing increasing international pressure for a ceasefire, or at least temporary pause, amid growing concerns over the civilian death toll in Gaza as Israeli forces attempt to wipe out Hamas.

The Hamas-controlled health ministry claims more than 10,000 people have been killed during Israel’s campaign.

Emmanuel Macron called for a ceasefire yesterday after humanitarian pauses have been put in place, as he opened a conference on aid for the Palestinian territory.

The French president said: ”In the immediate term, we need to work on protecting civilians. To do that, we need a humanitarian pause very quickly and we must work towards a ceasefire.”

 

Thousands were seen marching south out of Gaza City in recent days holding white flags, amid more fierce fighting in the territory’s largest city.  

Israel’s military said it had killed around 50 militants and uncovered a cache of weapons stores at Hamas’ “military quarter” in Gaza City on Thursday.

The so-called military quarter is adjacent to Al Shifa Hospital, in which thousands of Palestinian civilians have sought refuge. Israel claims the hospital is used as a Hamas base.

Many of those sheltering in the hospital, large numbers of whom are in tents within the facility’s grounds, say they have nowhere else to go.

Meanwhile, Shalom Ben Hanan, a former Israeli intelligence official, and a fellow at Israel’s International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, said any humanitarian pauses should be linked to talks progressing on Hamas handing over its 240 hostages.

”I support humanitarian pauses, but it must be with something in exchange,” he told The Telegraph. “If there is nothing from the other side, I am against it. It is crazy that even the Red Cross cannot visit the civilian hostages at this stage.”