The Dissolution of the Gaza War as a Test of the Palestinian Constraints on the Security of the Security Council and in the West
Some of Mr. Netanyahu’s political allies, however, have publicly backed the idea of temporarily moving large numbers of Gazans to Egypt as well as to other countries in the region and in the West.
Israel’s diplomatic push has added to a growing sense of uncertainty about what will happen if Israel takes control over parts or all of Gaza, even temporarily, at the end of its military operations.
The Israeli military ordered everyone living in northern Gaza to leave as it prepared for a ground invasion after the Hamas attack on October 7. The Egyptian border has been sealed since the beginning of the war and Israel did not suggest that Palestinians cross it.
Egypt has rejected the idea of a temporary displacement, let alone a permanent one. A spokesman for the Egyptian government declined to comment for this article, referring instead to a speech made last month by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Egyptian president, that dismissed idea.
Danny Danon is a lawmaker in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s party and a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations.
“We’ve engaged the Israelis on steps that they can take to minimize civilian casualties,” Blinken said. “We’re working … very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. And we have very concrete ways of doing that, and I think you’ll see in the days ahead that that assistance can expand in significant ways so that more gets into people who need it and gets to the people who need it, as well as making sure that people can continue to come out of Gaza.”
Israel is opposed to a cease-fire because it has not accomplished its stated goal of dismantling Hamas, Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, told NPR’s Morning Edition, adding that Israel’s government insists it is “using force in a proportionate manner, designed to only target those who are direct combatants in the fight.”
In response to the Hamas attack on Israel in which 1,400 people were killed, Israel has continued to hit Gaza from the air and ground.
The U.S. wants a humanitarian pause in Gaza, not a cease fire. What’s the difference? — Senator Dick Durbin reiterated on Friday at a United Nations conference
That same day, the heads of 18 United Nations agencies issued a rare joint statement reiterating their calls for an immediate cease-fire, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all civilian hostages.
Enough is enough. This must stop now,” wrote the signatories, which include the heads of the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the High Commissioner for Refugees.
A crowd of tens of thousands gathered in Washington, DC, this weekend to demand a cease fire in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and other cities throughout the United Kingdom and Europe have hosted others.
In the U.S., progressive House Democrats introduced a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, which roughly a dozen lawmakers have already signed onto. It should only happen after everyone of the hostages are out, that’s according to Senator Dick Durbin who became the first to call for one last week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected calls for a cease-fire. He reiterated in a televised address on Friday that one cannot happen without the return of the hostages.
“This should be removed from the vocabulary,” he said. “We say this to our friends and enemies.” We will not stop until we defeat them. We don’t have an alternative.
Source: [The U.S. wants a humanitarian pause in Gaza](https://politics.newsweekshowcase.com/there-must-be-a-cease-fire-in-gaza/), not a cease-fire. [What’s the difference?](https://www.npr.org/2023/11/06/1210992532/israel-hamas-cease-fire-humanitarian-pause)
U.S.-Israel Warfare in the Light of the Reopening of the Rafah Border, and a “Work in Progress”
A humanitarian pause is defined by the United Nations as a temporarily cessation of hostilities for humanitarian purposes.
After meeting with Netanyahu and his war cabinet in Tel Aviv, Blinken told reporters “We provided Israel advice that only the best of friends can offer on how to minimize civilian deaths while still achieving its objectives of finding and finishing Hamas terrorists and their infrastructure of violence.”
In recent days, top U.S. officials have asked the Israeli government to pause operations in certain areas of Gaza in order to facilitate the release of hostages and delivery of aid.
Just over 450 aid trucks had entered Gaza since the Rafah border crossing reopened on Oct. 21, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Sunday. According to it, the daily number of confirmed trucks crossing through is less than before the conflict.
“One is temporary and designed to achieve something that’s happening on the ground,” Daalder says. The other is meant to end the military phase of the conflict.
Blinken told reporters on Sunday that Israel has raised “important questions” about how humanitarian pauses would work, and the U.S. is working to answer them.
He said on Monday that the two countries were working to make progress on hostages and increase aid to Gaza, which he referred to as a work in progress.
Biden and Netanyahu discussed tactical pauses to provide civilians with opportunities to safely depart from areas of ongoing fighting, to ensure assistance is reaching civilians in need, and to enable the release of hostages, according to the White House. The two will speak in the coming days.