White House spokesperson John Kirby announced that U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed today, Monday, the possibility of a "tactical pause" in fighting in Gaza for humanitarian reasons and the potential for the release of hostages. Kirby added that the U.S. and Israeli governments will continue to communicate to achieve such potential temporary ceasefires, and that Biden and Netanyahu agreed to continue discussions in the coming days.
Kirby told reporters, "You can expect that we will continue to call for (periods of) temporary pauses in fighting in specific areas... We consider ourselves at the beginning of these discussions, not at the end." He noted that these talks occurred as more Americans are expected to leave Gaza today, and the flow of aid into the region continues. Biden and Netanyahu also discussed the situation in the West Bank.
Kirby stated, "We know that we need to get more trucks in. It is still a very limited flow... We need to get more people out." The White House reported that fewer than 30 aid trucks entered Gaza in the past 24 hours. The White House emphasizes that a general ceasefire would not be an appropriate step, advocating instead for shorter pauses in fighting to achieve specific humanitarian objectives.
