Thousands more flee north Gaza, as U.S. says Israel agrees to daily humanitarian pauses

There was no let-up in the fighting between Israel and Hamas in northern Gaza on Thursday, as thousands more civilians fled south in a bid to reach a presumed area of comparative safety.

Amid the chaos in the northern part of the territory, some civilians have remained, while others are choosing to leave, despite the risks in reaching the south, which has also seen regular attacks.

William Schomburg, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Gaza, voiced alarm about overcrowding in cramped shelters where hundreds of thousands of Gazans have fled.

“It’s a particularly difficult image in my mind, seeing thousands upon thousands of individuals with a look of total fear on their faces, carrying few of their possessions, some waving white flags as they moved on foot to seek greater safety and protection,” he told Reuters.

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Meanwhile, the White House said Thursday that Israel agreed to pause military operations in northern Gaza for four hours a day. The pauses, which would allow people to flee along two humanitarian corridors and could be used for the release of hostages, were significant first steps, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested any pauses would be scattered, and there was no official confirmation of a plan for recurring breaks.

Netanyahu: ‘The fighting continues’

Asked if there would be a “stoppage” in fighting, Netanyahu said on the Fox News Channel: “No. The fighting continues against the Hamas enemy, the Hamas terrorists, but in specific locations for a given period of a few hours here or a few hours there, we want to facilitate the safe passage of civilians.”

On the ground in northern Gaza, there were no reports of a lull in fighting. Israeli forces have encircled Gaza City and its tanks are advancing into the heart of the city as they hunt Hamas militants. Each side reported inflicting heavy casualties on the other in intense street battles.

Displaced Gazans live in fear with virtually nothing

Rows upon rows of tents populate a makeshift encampment in Khan Younis, Gaza, where families whose lives have been disrupted by the Israel-Hamas war have fled and wait for aid. Many struggle for food and clean water, with one man saying on Thursday he is living ‘by the hour … not even by the day, but by the hour.’

Israeli officials spoke more generally of measures that appeared to correspond to arrangements already in place. In recent days, Israel has allowed civilians safe passage along the main Gaza route south for three or four hours each day. The White House’s comments suggested a second route would be opened.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said any program for breaks in fighting would need to be co-ordinated with the United Nations “especially on the issue of timings and location.”

“And obviously, in order for this to be done safely for humanitarian purposes, it would have to be agreed with all parties to the conflict to be truly effective,” he said.

Nearly 5 weeks of conflict

Israel unleashed its assault on Gaza in response to a cross-border Hamas raid into southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which gunmen killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians including several Canadians.

About 240 hostages were captured, according to Israeli tallies.

Officials from Hamas-ruled Gaza said 10,812 residents of the territory had been killed as of Thursday, in air and artillery strikes. A humanitarian catastrophe has unfolded as basic supplies run out and wounded people overwhelm a fragile medical system.

Health officials and aid organizations in Gaza say the death toll will likely increase further as rescuers remove more bodies from the rubble of destroyed buildings.

In northern Gaza, Israeli forces inched closer to two big hospitals where civilians have sought refuge, packing into the Al Shifa Hospital and al-Quds Hospital amid ground battles and Israeli airstrikes.

Israel agrees to 4-hour pauses in bombing after mounting pressure

Israel has agreed to daily four-hour pauses in bombing so civilians can make their way south out of Gaza City. There is now a daily exodus of tens of thousands of people heading south who end up in tents with many fearing infectious disease.

Israel, which has vowed to eliminate Hamas, says the group is using Al Shifa to hide command posts and entry points into an extensive tunnel network under Gaza, something Hamas and the hospital deny.

In Paris, officials from about 80 countries and organizations were meeting to co-ordinate humanitarian aid to Gaza and find ways to help wounded civilians escape the siege, now in its second month.

“Without a ceasefire, lifting of siege and indiscriminate bombarding and warfare, the hemorrhage of human lives will continue,” said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Israel and its main backer the United States say a full ceasefire would benefit Hamas, and Israel’s defence minister reiterated on Thursday there would be no ceasefire.

Civilians fleeing from north to south Gaza on Thursday told of a harrowing journey. “We saw decomposed bodies, people from civilian cars, civilians like us, not military cars or resistance men,” Khaled Abu Issa said after crossing into the south with his family at Wadi Gaza.

A key crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt remained closed well into Thursday to thousands looking to leave the enclave, including hundreds of Canadian citizens. Evacuations for foreign passport holders and Palestinians needing medical treatment later resumed through the Rafah crossing, Egyptian security and medical sources said.

Global Affairs Canada says Canadian officials in Egypt remain ready to welcome those leaving the territory and help them get to Cairo. Those coming from Gaza are allowed to stay in Egypt for up to three days.

Outside of Gaza, tensions have also soared on other fault lines. Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah said it fired missiles over the border into Israel, and Israel’s military said it responded with artillery fire.

An unidentified drone hit a civilian building in the southern Israeli port city of Eilat, causing only light damage, Israel’s military said, and Yemen’s Houthi movement said it fired ballistic missiles toward the Red Sea port city.

Ten Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in a raid on Jenin city and refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Israel’s military said it was conducting counter-terrorism raids.

Who can use Hamas’s tunnel system?

This maze of tunnels that runs underneath much of Gaza was built by Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by several countries, including Canada. For weeks now, the Israel Defence Forces say its airstrikes have been targeting those tunnels. Who is allowed to seek refuge in them?