US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Washington is considering “the idea of a temporary halt to the conflict between Israel and Hamas with the aim of helping civilians in Gaza and extracting hostages, including American nationals.”
Kirby added in a press conference, “What we are trying to do is explore the idea of pauses that may be necessary to continue bringing in aid and to continue working to get people out safely, including hostages.” He continued, “Any such temporary pause will not prevent Israel from defending itself.”
For his part, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder reiterated that Washington does not support a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. But on the other hand, he spoke of “temporary humanitarian truces” to bring in aid and remove hostages.
Ryder said, “The ceasefire gives Hamas time to reorganize its ranks and launch new attacks.” He added, “We support a temporary humanitarian truce in Gaza to enable aid to enter and for hostages and detainees to exit,” and continued, “We continue to talk with the Israelis about the importance of proportionality and protecting civilians on the ground.”
He stressed that the United States continues to “send vital security assistance to Israel as it defends itself against terrorist attacks.” He added, “We continue to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East and continue to protect our forces and citizens in the region.”
The United States is putting pressure on Israel to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Channel 11 quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Israel may agree to “stop attacks for a few hours” in the Gaza Strip.”
The Israeli official said that the head of the war government, Benjamin Netanyahu, is considering complying with the American demand for a temporary ceasefire, or even talking about a truce or a temporary cessation of unilateral attacks, but the Israeli side insists that “this matter also depends on the circumstances themselves,” indicating To the development of military operations on the ground.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari stressed earlier Thursday that “the concept of a ceasefire is not currently on the table at all.”
The issue of the humanitarian truce is supposed to be discussed during US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to Israel on Friday. Blinken said before heading to the Middle East: “We will talk about concrete steps that can and should be taken to reduce the harm caused to men, women and children in Gaza,” stressing, “This is something the United States is committed to.” He reiterated that his country believes that Israel “has the right to defend itself” after the Hamas attack.
But in keeping with a subtle shift in tone from President Joe Biden, Blinken said he was saddened by the killing of Palestinian civilians, something that angers many in the Arab world. He said, “When I see a Palestinian child being pulled from under the rubble of a collapsed building, it hurts me just as I feel when I see a child in Israel or anywhere else.”
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2023-11-03 04:03:51
