Amid Biden administration efforts to minimize casualties as Israeli forces advance deeper into the Gaza Strip, Israel has agreed to hold expanded daily pauses in military operations to allow civilians to leave northern Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces will hold their fire for four hours per day, according to CNN.
President Joe Biden indicated that he has been putting pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I’ve been asking for a pause for a lot more than three days,” Biden said, adding, “I’ve asked for even a longer pause.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, “We have been urging the Israelis to minimize civilian casualties and to do everything that they can to reduce those numbers.”
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has claimed that more than 10,000 people have died since Israel launched attacks in retaliation for the Hamas terrorist attacks that killed 1,400 people in Israel on Oct. 7.
A senior Israeli official told CNN that, starting “really soon,” Israel will choose an area, give civilians there several hours’ notice, and then pause activity in that area.
The Times of Israel quoted a White House source as saying that “if Hamas takes advantage of these pauses to initiate combat activities or fire rockets, the IDF said they will take action in response to the origin of the threat.”
On Thursday, Israeli forces were engaged with Hamas terrorists both above and below ground near a hospital in the “military quarter” of Gaza City, according to another Times of Israel report.
The IDF said the area is the center of Hamas’ intelligence and operational activities, noting that the military installations are “in the heart of the civilian population.”
“This is further proof of the terrorist organization’s cynical use of the residents of the Gaza Strip as a human shield for its murderous terrorist activity,” the IDF said.
But as Israel moves forward, American officials are calling for a less lethal approach to war.
Citing unnamed sources, The New York Times reported that U.S. military leaders are telling Israel to be “more calculating and precise” in targeting Hamas. The suggestion has also been made to use smaller bombs.
Many on the left, including prominent lawmakers, have demanded an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Netanyahu has rejected those demands, saying the fighting will not end until all the Hamas hostages are freed.
However, apparently aware that he may soon face diplomatic headwinds, Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel is engaging in talks to “provide the IDF with international maneuvering room for continued military activity.”
Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., who formerly led U.S. Central Command, told the Times that time “is not necessarily on Israel’s side” as it continues its campaign.
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