The White House says Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in its assault on Hamas in northern Gaza starting on Thursday.
US President Joe Biden had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to institute the daily pauses on Monday.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the first humanitarian pause would be announced on Thursday and that the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance.
He said Israel was also opening a second corridor for civilians to flee the areas that are the current focus of its military campaign against Hamas, with a coastal road joining the territory’s main north-south highway.
Similar short-term pauses have occurred over the last several days as tens of thousands of civilians have fled southwards, but Thursday’s announcement appeared to be an effort to formalise and expand the process, as the US has pressed Israelis to take greater steps to protect civilians in Gaza.
Mr Biden also told reporters he had asked the Israelis for a “pause longer than three days” during negotiations over the release of some hostages held by Hamas, though he said there was “no possibility” of a general ceasefire.
Asked if he was frustrated by Mr Netanyahu over the delays instituting humanitarian pauses, Mr Biden said: “It’s taken a little longer than I hoped.”
Israeli officials estimate that Hamas took 239 hostages, including children and the elderly, during its surprise attack on Israel on October 7 that also saw 1,400 Israelis killed. US officials say it believes fewer than 10 Americans are among those held captive.
Mr Kirby told reporters on Thursday that pauses could be useful to “getting all 239 hostages back with their families to include the less than 10 Americans that we know are being held. So if we can get all the hostages out, that’s a nice finite goal”.
“Humanitarian pauses can be useful in the transfer process,” he added.
Indirect talks were taking place in Qatar – which also played a role in the freeing of four hostages by Hamas last month – about a larger release of hostages. CIA director William Burns was in Doha on Thursday to discuss efforts to win the release of hostages in Gaza with the Qatari prime minister and the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, according to a US official.
Mr Burns met with Mossad chief David Barnea and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the official.
Qatar is a frequent go-between in international dealings with Hamas, and some top Hamas political leaders make their home in the Gulf country. The US official stressed Mr Burns was not playing a lead role in the negotiations.
Mr Kirby confirmed that the US continues to have “active discussions with partners about trying to secure the release of hostages”, noting in particular Qatar’s help.
“We know they have lines of communication with Hamas that we don’t,” Mr Kirby said of Qatar. “And we’re going to continue to work with them and regional partners to try to secure the release of all the hostages.”
US secretary of state Antony Blinken had warned Israel last week that it risked destroying an eventual possibility for peace unless it acted swiftly to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza for Palestinian civilians as it intensifies its war against Hamas.
In a blunt call for Israel to pause military operations in the territory to allow for the immediate and increased delivery of assistance, Mr Blinken said the situation would drive Palestinians towards further radicalism and effectively end prospects for any eventual resumption of peace talks to end the conflict.
French President Emmanuel Macron opened a Gaza aid conference on Thursday with an appeal for Israel to protect civilians, saying “all lives have equal worth” and that fighting terrorism “can never be carried out without rules”.
Mr Kirby said Uzra Zeya, the US State Department’s under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights; special envoy David Satterfield; and Sarah Charles, who leads the United States Agency for International Development’s bureau for humanitarian assistance, were representing the US at the Paris conference.
Israel has not been invited by France to the conference. When asked about the decision to leave Israel out of the international talks, Mr Kirby said: “We’re focused on trying to have the most constructive conversation there that we can.”
