Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has dismissed reports about the White House spokesperson’s statement that Israel has agreed to a daily four-hour humanitarian pause in northern Gaza starting today on Thursday (Nov 9).
“The fighting is continuing and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our captives,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“Israel is enabling safe corridors from the Strip’s north to its south, as 50,000 Gazans did only yesterday.”
According to the Times of Israel newspaper, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has halted fighting for several hours each day for the past few days to allow tens of thousands of Gaza City residents to evacuate to the Strip’s south.
The response from Israel came just minutes after the US claimed that they were informed about Israel’s decision to implement four-hour military ‘pauses’ in northern Gaza each day.
According to western media, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the brief ceasefire would be implemented from today on Thursday.
“And 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,” he added.
Calling it a “significant step, Kirby said, “Obviously we want to see them continued for as long as they are needed.”
Kirby also reiterated the US stance that now is not the time for a ceasefire, saying it would help Hamas “legitimise what they did” on 7 October.
