Israel Plays Down US Reports of 4-Hour ‘Pauses’ in Gaza
Israel appeared to play down US claims that it would begin implementing four-hour “humanitarian pauses” in Northern Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and Israeli military officials casting doubt over Washington’s announcement.
Earlier on Thursday, White House Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that there would be two “humanitarian corridors” for Palestinians to flee Northern Gaza to the South and that Israel would not carry out military operations in those areas for periods lasting four hours, Middle East Eye reported.
“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,” Kirby said, as he distinguished between the existing humanitarian windows which have been limited to certain roads over the past few days.
“The announcements today of these pauses come after a lot of engagement by the president, personal engagement by the president, with the prime minister [Netanyahu] and engagement at various other levels inside the administration,” he added.
However, an hour later, a statement from Netanyahu’s office said the fighting in Gaza would “continue and there will not be a ceasefire before the hostages are released”.
Later, Israeli Army Spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters that the four-hour windows were “not a shift” in Israeli policy.
“I saw John Kirby’s comment a few hours ago. There is no ceasefire. I repeat, there’s no ceasefire,” Hecht stated, adding, “It is a tactical pause for the movement from a specific area [to the] South.”
While the terms pause and ceasefire might sound similar, the administration of President Joe Biden has repeatedly opposed the latter, arguing that Israel needs to defend itself against Hamas.
“A ceasefire now would leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on 7 October,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Saturday.
Rights groups and international bodies have repeatedly criticised Israel for forcibly expelling Palestinians from Northern to Southern Gaza, warning it was a repeat of the Nakba.
The Nakba, or “catastrophe” as it’s known in English, refers to the ethnic cleansing of some 750,000 Palestinians from their lands and homes in historic Palestine to make way for the creation of Israel in 1948.
Israel has repeatedly called on people in Northern Gaza to leave their homes and head to the South, where they claim it is safe. However, indiscriminate bombings have continued all over Gaza, including the targeting of people leaving the North for the South.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 10,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, including 4,400 children and 2,900 women, while nearly 27,000 others have been injured.
