Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu rebuffs pushes for Gaza humanitarian pause until hostages are released

Netanyahu rejects United States’ appeal for a humanitarian pause in Gaza

Israel and the US appear to be taking divergent approaches to securing the release of the more than 200 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

A senior Biden administration official said on Friday the US believes the fighting will need to take a “fairly significant pause” to allow for their release – modelled on a smaller-scale letup last month that allowed two American hostages to be freed.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under White House rules, said the release was a “testing pilot” for how a broader deal could be struck and that negotiations on a “larger package” of hostages are ongoing. The official emphasised it would require a significant halt in fighting to ensure their safety.

Israel has insisted hostage releases must precede any pause, as it seeks to up the pressure on Hamas and force the militant group’s hand.

After a meeting on Friday with Antony Blinken, the American Secretary of State, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of ​​”a temporary truce” without releasing the hostages.

While the United States is against a ceasefire, it has called for pauses in fighting to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid that has begun entering the Gaza Strip via Egypt, but in insufficient quantity according to the UN.

The Gaza Strip, a small territory of 362 square kilometres populated by 2.4 million inhabitants, has been placed under “complete siege” since 9 October by Israel, which has cut off supplies of water, electricity and food.

The territory was already subject to an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since Hamas took power there in 2007.

UN condemns Israeli strike on ambulance in Gaza

The UN has condemned the bombing of an ambulance which killed fifteen people on Friday in Gaza, a strike confirmed by the Israeli army.

They claimed their attack was intended to target members of Hamas – something the military group has denied.

“I am horrified,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement, adding: “The images of the bodies strewn in the street outside the hospital are heartbreaking.”

Israeli aircraft “struck an ambulance that was identified by the forces as being used by a Hamas terrorist cell near their position in the combat zone,” the Israeli army said in a statement.

Israel’s claims “about the presence of fighters inside the targeted ambulances are false, and they are new lies added to the constant lies… used to justify its crimes”, Hamas said in a statement published on Telegram.

According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, the strike left 15 dead and 60 injured.

Spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidreh said the ambulance was part of a convoy which transported “several injured people on their way to be hospitalised in Egypt”.

The toll was confirmed by the Red Crescent, which added that a doctor had been slightly injured by shrapnel in one leg.

They added that “the deliberate targeting of medical teams constitutes a serious violation of the Geneva Convention”.

Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, posted on Twitter – formerly X – saying he was “utterly shocked” and reiterating that: “patients, health workers, facilities, and ambulances must be protected at all times. Always”, while calling once again for a ceasefire.

Israeli strikes ‘terrorist cells’ on Hezbollah positions – army

The Israeli army announced on Saturday that it had struck “two terrorist cells” and a Hezbollah “observation post” in response to attempted firing from Lebanon towards Israeli territory.

“In response to two terrorist cells attempting to fire from Lebanon towards Israeli territory, the Israeli army struck the cells and a Hezbollah observation post,” the army said in a statement.

They also indicated that they had responded to mortar fire coming from Lebanon towards Israeli localities “in the north of Israel”, specifying that they had not caused any injuries.

Since 7 October 7, the Lebanese-Israeli border has been the scene of frequent exchanges of fire between the Israeli army on one side and the powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah and its allies on the other, who support Hamas.

In his first speech since the start of the conflict, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday accused the United States of being “entirely responsible” for the war between Israel and Hamas.

He also warned Israel against the “stupidity” that an attack on Lebanon would represent, adding that stopping the “aggression against Gaza” would prevent a regional conflict.

The rise in tensions on the Israeli-Lebanese border has raised fears of a regional extension of the war between Israel and Hamas.