Americans will ask for brief Israeli ‘pause’ to allow aid into Gaza

The United States are expected to urge the Israeli government into a series of brief cessations of military operations in Gaza, to allow for hostages to be released safely and for humanitarian aid to be distributed.

White House officials said on Thursday that the “humanitarian pauses” will be one of several subjects that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will raise with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a visit to Israel today.

A new round of diplomacy comes amid fierce bombardment from the Israeli Defence Forces, which was preceeded by a forced evacaution of northern Gaza after the terror attacks by Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza.

US President Joe Biden revealed on Wednesday that Netanyahu had previously agreed to halt shelling briefly to allow for the release of two Americans taken hostage by Hamas.

Blinken has also said that part of his mission would be to help ensure that civilians in Gaza were protected as Israel wages its war. “We’ve seen in recent days Palestinian civilians continuing to bear the brunt of this, this action. And it’s important that the United States is committed to making sure everything possible is done to protect civilians.”

But White House officials said the request for ‘pauses’ was far different from an overall cease-fire, because the US believes this would benefit Hamas by allowing it to recover from Israel’s intense bombardment.

People in Gaza are now struggling to find food, water, medicine and fuel. And a strike on a refugee camp in Gaza this week killed dozens of people even as Israeli officials said they killed a top Hamas leader.

“Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians,” Blinken told the United Nations Security Council recently. “It means food, medicine and water and other assistance must flow into Gaza and to the areas people need them. It means civilians must be able to get out of harm’s way. It means humanitarian pauses must be considered for these purposes.”

The International Rescue Committee has also called for such pauses as a way of helping to ensure that aid workers were kept safe as they tried to help get supplies into Gaza.

“It would allow for delivery of humanitarian supplies, and allow staff to assess needs and deliver aid,” the group said. “It could also allow for the evacuation of the sick and wounded who cannot be cared for inside Gaza, and allow for negotiations for release of hostages.”

Catherine Russell, the executive director of UNICEF, on Thursday demanded a humanitarian cease-fire that would protect civilians in Gaza, especially children. “Four hundred children are reportedly killed and injured in Gaza every day, so any step to stop the violence, even temporarily, is positive,” she said. “But it is not enough.”