After weeks of declining to back international calls for “humanitarian pauses” in Israeli airstrikes, the Biden administration is now pressing Israel to agree.
President Joe Biden departs a fundraiser in Washington, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, before heading to Delaware for the weekend.
The administration’s public promotion this week of humanitarian pauses came after what one U.S. official said was “a lot of the groundwork in private communications.” Four people, including two U.S. and two Israeli civilians have been released so far following negotiations brokered primarily by Qatar. Despite persistent reports that a larger hostage release was imminent, involving dozens of people, there was no sign Friday of any breakthroughs.
Israel and the United States have blamed Hamas, which controls the Gaza government, for blocking the gates on the Gaza side. Echoing weekend comments by Blinken, Kirby said “the main holdup here is Hamas.” Abood Okal and his family, who live in Michigan, said he and his wife and 1-year-old son are staying about a 10-minute drive from the crossing, sleeping on the floor of a friend’s home with dozens of others, including about 10 Americans. The airstrikes are intensifying, he said Friday, including one close enough to shatter the windows. On Thursday, another struck a building about 800 feet away. “We’re trying to stay strong,” he said, “but we cannot help but feel hopeless and abandoned.
After the Hamas attack, which left at least 1,400 Israelis dead, Israel imposed a complete siege on the Gaza Strip — cutting off electricity, fuel, water and other critical supplies. As casualties from ongoing Israeli airstrikes have mounted — with more than 7,000 killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry — and the humanitarian situation has become more urgent, calls for aid to be let in mounted.
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