Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office reiterated on Thursday that the country will not agree to any ceasefire until Hamas does not release hostages.
"The fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages," the prime minister said in a statement forwarded to the media. "Israel is allowing safe passage corridors from the northern strip to its south, as 50,000 Gazans did just yesterday. ... We call again upon the Gazan civilian population to evacuate to the south."
The news came just as United States National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby announced that Israel agreed to introduce four-hour pauses during its ongoing campaign in Gaza to enable humanitarian passages.
