TEL AVIV (dpa-AFX) – The Israeli government insists on its demand that there will only be a ceasefire with Hamas if the hostages held by the Islamists are released. “The fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” said a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Thursday.
The White House had previously announced that Israel had agreed to daily four-hour “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip. A spokesman for Netanyahu did not answer the question on Thursday whether the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office was a denial of the US announcement.
Netanyahu’s office referred to an escape corridor for civilians in the Gaza Strip from the north to the south, through which Israel is currently promising people safe passage for a few hours every day. It was said that 50,000 people used the escape route on Wednesday.
The Israeli military had indicated earlier on Thursday on the online platform X that there was no ceasefire, but “tactical, local pauses for humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza”.