ISRAEL will begin four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in northern Gaza starting today, the US claims.
Washington said it has secured a second pathway for trapped civilians to flee the carnage but announced there was “no possibility” of a ceasefire.
Over 10,500 Palestinians are said to have been killed in the bombardment of Gaza
GettyPalestinians are seen moving from northern Gaza further south to escape the intense fighting[/caption]
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the first humanitarian pause would be announced today.
He added that Israel had agreed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance.
However, President Biden reaffirmed that there was currently “no possibility” of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“None. No possibility,” Biden told reporters today.
The development came after serious talks in recent days between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Kirby said the pauses would allow people to get out of harm’s way and for deliveries of humanitarian aid and could be used as a way to get hostages out.
“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 said.
“We think these are significant first steps here and obviously we want to see them continued for as long as they are needed,” he added.
Kirby also said a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants would not happen as it would “legitimise what [Hamas] did on October 7 and we simply are not going to stand for that at this time.”
Over 10,500 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s relentless bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It comes as Israeli troops captured a crucial Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip after a bloody ten-hour gunfight with terrorists.
The IDF said its soldiers killed dozens of Hamas militants as they seized what is known as Outpost 17 in the city of Jabalia.
Footage released by the IDF shows soldiers armed with guns storming the base before steaming in with a bulldozer to clear mines and explosives.
The IDF claims to have so far destroyed at least 130 tunnel entrances since the war erupted just over a month ago.
Last night, Israel struck Hezbollah bases in Lebanon sending a huge mushroom cloud of flames billowing into the sky.
The IDF said it used fighter jets to attack “terror bases” used by Hezbollah militants in farmland near two Lebanese towns.
The strike came only hours after an Israeli military spokesman dubbed Hamas leaders “dead men walking” in a chilling threat.
At the same time, the US blasted a weapons warehouse in Syria being used by Iran-backed militias as fears grow that the conflict will spread into an all-out war across the Middle East.
Tensions are hitting boiling point as the US and coalition troops have been attacked at least 40 times in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed forces since the start of October.
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