On Thursday, Taher al-Nounou, the media advisor to the head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, denied reaching a ceasefire agreement with Israel. He stated, according to a message published on Hamas's channel on Telegram, "Discussions are ongoing, and no agreement has been reached at this moment. If any agreement is made, it will be clearly announced to our people."
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Gallant said the military is taking "specific and precise measures" in Gaza to enable Palestinian refugees to escape the fighting with Hamas, seemingly referring to a four-hour ceasefire announced by Washington. He reported that Israel has not approved any ceasefire in its military campaign against Hamas, but will continue to allow short pauses for humanitarian aid to enter.
Army spokesman Colonel Richard Hecht emphasized, "There is no ceasefire, and I repeat, there is no ceasefire. What we are doing is that this four-hour pause is tactical and local breaks to allow humanitarian assistance to reach."
The Israeli army confirmed that it is "prepared for a long war, starting in northern Gaza." The White House announced that Israel would implement a four-hour ceasefire on Thursday in northern Gaza to allow residents to escape the fighting, describing it as "a step in the right direction."
John Kirby, the White House National Security spokesman, indicated that these pauses resulted from discussions between American and Israeli officials in recent days, including talks held by U.S. President Joe Biden with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kirby stated that the pauses in fighting "will allow people to distance themselves from harm and to deliver humanitarian aid, and can also be used as a means to release hostages."
He continued, "The Israelis have informed us that there will be no military operations in these areas during the pause and that these operations would begin today." He added, "We understand that Israel will start implementing these four-hour pauses in northern Gaza and will announce the timing three hours in advance."
Kirby noted that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is not total, as such an agreement would benefit Hamas and "legitimize what it did on October 7, and simply, we will not defend that at this time."
For its part, UN spokesman Stefan Dujarric confirmed that any reprieve in fighting for humanitarian purposes in Gaza requires coordination with the UN and must be approved by all parties to the conflict "to be truly effective."
