11:47 am ET, November 9, 2023
US says Israel will launch 4 hours of military operations in northern Gaza every day
From CNN’s Kevin Lipduck
Israel will start implementing A four-hour pause in military operations Every day in parts of northern Gaza, the White House says, must allow Humanitarian aid and allow civilians to escape.
According to John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, Israel will announce the timing of the pauses three hours in advance.
“The Israelis have informed us that there will be no military operations in these areas during the ceasefire and that the process begins today,” Kirby said.
The US welcomed the development, calling the suspensions “steps in the right direction”.
“We’re urging the Israelis to do everything they can to minimize civilian casualties and reduce that number,” Kirby said, adding that the pauses would give civilians “a few hours of breathing space” out of harm’s way.
Kirby said the suspensions would provide “brief windows of opportunity” for the safe passage of hostages held by Hamas.
Biden pushes for longer pauses: US President Joe Biden told reporters on Thursday that he was advocating a humanitarian pause for more than three days.
“We are hopeful,” Biden said of the process to free the more than 200 hostages in Gaza, including some more Americans.
Asked if he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a three-day pause to help ease the process, he said, “I’m asking for a pause longer than three days. Yes,” then added, “I’ve asked for a longer pause for some of them.”
Biden played down concerns about whether Netanyahu was listening to America, but acknowledged the process “took a little longer than I expected.”
Evacuees told CNN they were scared Nowhere is safe Inside the residence.
Israel Defense Forces on Thursday extended the evacuation window to six hours to allow people to leave for the south.
CNN’s Betsy Klein, Arlette Chance and Abeer Salman reported for this post.
