Israel agrees 4 hr Gaza ceasefire for civilian evacuations, states White House
The White House said that Israel had agreed to implement four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in its strikes on Hamas in northern Gaza. President Joe Biden urged Israelis for a multi-day ceasefire in the assaults in an attempt to broker the release of hostages held by the militant group.
In a Monday chat, President Biden said he had requested Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to start the daily pauses and that he had also called for a three-day minimum break to allow for negotiations concerning hostages.
When asked if he had requested a three-day break from Israel, Biden replied, "Yes."
“I’ve asked for even a longer pause for some of them.” He also stated that there was now "no possibility" of a formal cease-fire and that Israel's agreement to the humanitarian pauses had "taken a little longer" than he had anticipated.
According to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, the Israelis had agreed to provide at least three hours' advance announcement for each four-hour window of the humanitarian cease, which will be declared every day on Thursday. He claimed that Israel was also creating a second route for civilians to escape the regions that are the subject of its military assault against Hamas, connecting the main north-south highway in the territory with a coastline road.
"We don't seek to govern Gaza, but..": PM Netanyahu
PM Benjamin Netanyahu, refused a ceasefire in Gaza on Thursday, claiming that the military was operating "exceptionally well," but he also emphasised that Israel has no intention of reoccupying the Palestinian region.
He told Fox News that "a ceasefire with Hamas means surrender" and that the military offensive had no "timetable."
"I think the Israeli army is performing exceptionally well," he added "However long it takes, we'll do it."
When asked about his vision for the future of Gaza, he stated that the troubled and impoverished region needed to be "demilitarised, deradicalised, and rebuilt."
"We don't seek to govern Gaza. We don't seek to occupy it, but we seek to give it and us a better future," he said, adding that Israel does not "seek to displace anyone."
He said, "We'll have to find a government, a civilian government that will be there," but he did not specify who could establish it.
Furthermore, he stated that Israeli soldiers would need to stay prepared to reenter Gaza and "kill the killers". "That's what will prevent the reemergence of a Hamas-like entity."
(Photo: AP)
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