Israeli officials on Thursday, November 9th, announced that it will implement daily, “tactical, localized pauses” in its military operations in Gaza to allow for the evacuation of civilians and distribution of humanitarian aid, but emphasized no ceasefire will occur until all hostages are released.
Israel’s announcement of the humanitarian pauses, set to occur daily for a period of four hours in specific areas in northern Gaza, follow a weeks-long initiative by high-ranking Biden administration officials to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take steps to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza, The Jerusalem Post reports.
“We’ve been told by the Israelis that there will be no military operations in these areas over the duration of the pause,” John Kirby, who serves as the U.S. National Security Council spokesman, said, noting that the pauses would begin Thursday, November 9th. He claimed the agreement is a “direct result” of Biden’s “personal leadership and diplomacy.”
According to a senior Israeli official, the pauses, which will take place after three hours’ notice, will occur “for four hours each day in a different area or neighborhood … to get medical supplies and food” and ensure that non-combatants can not only safely move to the south, away from fierce clashes in northern Gaza, but to allow Palestinians to go outside without having to fear for their lives.
“Our war is with Hamas and not with the people of Gaza,” the Israeli Defense Forces said in a post on X.
Through its announcement, Israel is formalizing and expanding upon measures that have already existed for some days, including its interruption of attacks along one corridor for several hours in order to allow non-combatants to make their way out of the northern region of Gaza. Israel has also opened up a second evacuation corridor along the Mediterranean coastline.
It, however, falls significantly short of the White House’s objectives. While speaking to reporters on Thursday, Biden mentioned he had called on Israel to implement a ceasefire for “longer than three days” to ensure the release of some of the approximately 240 hostages held by Hamas.
“It’s taken a little longer than I hoped,” Biden said during a press conference, revealing his frustration with his Israeli counterpart. It’s worth noting, however, that Biden, unlike some members of his party and many leftist around the world, has yet to call for a total ceasefire, and has stated Israel has the right to destroy Hamas in light of the October 7th attacks.
Kirby, for his part, has conveyed empathy for Israel as it confronts the challenge of combating Hamas while endeavoring to minimize civilian deaths.
“Frankly, a cease-fire at this time would in all practicality legitimize what they did on Oct. 7, and we simply aren’t going to stand for that at this time,” Kirby said.
Disagreements between the U.S. and Israel regarding the length of the pauses relate to ongoing discussions between the U.S., Israel, and Qatar that seek to strike a deal in order to secure the release of the hostages. While Hamas has previously asked for a five-day ceasefire to release non-military hostages, Israel says there will be no ceasefire until all hostages are released.
CIA Director William Burns on Thursday held talks in Doha with his Israeli counterpart, the director of Mossad, along with senior Qatari government officials, who’ve been mediating indirect U.S.-Israeli discussions with Hamas concerning the release of the hostages.
Top Israeli officials were quick to stress that the IDF’s military operation would carry on and that all calls for a ceasefire have been dismissed.
In a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office released on Thursday, there was no explicit mention of the pauses. It did, however, note that Israel’s security forces are facilitating the secure passage through humanitarian corridors from the northern Gaza strip to the south, a route used by some 50,000 Gazans the day before.
“The fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” the statement says. “We once again call on the civilian population of Gaza to evacuate to the south.”
