WASHINGTON, November 9. /TASS/. Israel will start implementing four-hour humanitarian pauses in northern Gaza starting on November 9, White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told an online briefing.
"We understand that Israel will begin to implement four-hour pauses in areas of northern Gaza each day, with an announcement to be made three hours beforehand," he said, adding: "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."
"As we've said repeatedly, this is not our military operation. Israel makes its own decisions," Kirby noted. "At the same time, Israel has an obligation to fully comply with international law, and we believe these pauses are a step in the right direction, particularly to help ensure that civilians have an opportunity to reach safer areas," he said.
Axios wrote earlier that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken "told his Israeli counterparts <...> that agreeing to a humanitarian pause will help the US fend off growing pressure it is facing over its support of Israel's operation in Gaza and in turn help Israel buy more time for its ground offensive."
Tensions in the Middle East flared up again after Hamas militants infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7. The Palestinian movement described its attack as a response to the actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.