Diplomacy to pause fighting and ease siege intensifies as Israeli ground troops advance on Gaza City
Israel's ground troops advanced toward Gaza City on Thursday, as the US and Arab countries intensified diplomatic efforts to ease the siege of the Hamas-ruled enclave and bring about at least a brief stop to the fighting to help civilians. More than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war broke out, health officials said.
President Joe Biden suggested a humanitarian «pause» the day before, as an apparent agreement among the US, Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, allowed hundreds of Palestinians with foreign passports and dozens of wounded to leave Gaza for the first time.
Dozens more left on Thursday.
Arab countries, including those allied with the US and at peace with Israel, have expressed mounting unease with the war. Jordan recalled its ambassador from Israel and told Israel's envoy to remain out of the country until there's a halt to the war and the «humanitarian catastrophe» it is causing.
More than 3,600 Palestinian children have been killed in 25 days of fighting, and bombings have driven more than half the territory's 2.3 million people from their homes, while food, water and fuel run low.
Israeli troops pushed into Gaza in larger numbers over the weekend after three weeks of heavy airstrikes that have demolished entire neighbourhoods.
The war, the fifth and by far deadliest in Gaza, began when Hamas launched a bloody October 7 rampage into Israel, killing hundreds of men, women and children.
Some 240 were captured.
The US has pledged unwavering support for Israel as it seeks to end Hamas' rule over Gaza and crush its military capabilities, even as the two allies seem to have no clear plan for what would come next.
White House officials said a pause in fighting would allow for
