Gaza Conflict: Israel agrees to allow four-hour pauses to let civilians evacuate

According to the White House, Israel has decided to stop operations in the northern Gaza Strip for four hours every day starting on Thursday. This is the first indication of a break in fighting that has left thousands of people dead and raised concerns about a regional conflict. According to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, the pauses were important first steps that would allow people to escape along two humanitarian corridors. “We’ve been told by the Israelis that there will be no military operations in these areas over the duration of the pause, and that this process is starting today,” Kirby stated. The pauses, which would be made public three hours beforehand, were the result of recent discussions between American and Israeli officials, Kirby continued, including a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier, as the situation for civilians in the besieged Palestinian territory deteriorated, Israeli forces battled Hamas militants amid destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip, edging closer to two large hospitals. After Israel ordered them to leave, thousands more Palestinians were reportedly making their way from the beleaguered north to the south along a treacherous frontline path covered in bodies, according to those who were travelling there. However, a large number of people are remaining in the north, crammed into the Al Shifa and Al-Quds Hospitals while nearby ground combat rages and additional Israeli airstrikes fall from the sky. Israel claims that the hospitals are home to Hamas command centres. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a U.S. official said that the heads of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency met with the prime minister of Qatar in Doha to discuss a potential agreement over hostages. In the past, Qatar has acted as a mediator between Hamas. Officials from about 80 nations and organisations convened in Paris to plan humanitarian relief efforts for Gaza and devise strategies for assisting injured civilians in escaping the ongoing, two-month-old siege. A complete ceasefire, according to Israel and the US, would be advantageous for Hamas. Israel launched its attack on Gaza in retaliation for a cross-border Hamas raid on southern Israel on October 7, during which terrorists, according to Israeli estimates, killed 1,400 people—mostly civilians—and captured roughly 240 hostages. It was the bloodiest day in Israel’s 75-year history and garnered sympathy and support for Israel from around the world in addition to condemning Hamas. (With agency inputs)