What a humanitarian pause would mean for Gaza

President Biden and White House officials this week have increasingly voiced support for a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas conflict as fighting in Gaza in particular intensifies.

The support for a humanitarian pause comes nearly a month after Hamas, a militant group that controls Gaza, launched terrorist attacks on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people. Israel has responded with airstrikes on Gaza that have killed thousands of Palestinians.

At the same time, humanitarian aid has been slow to get into Gaza, where civilians lack access to adequate food, water and medicine, and the U.S. and other nations are still working to free hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks.

What is a humanitarian pause?

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, during a briefing at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The White House has described a humanitarian pause as a temporary, “localized” break in fighting that would allow aid to get into Gaza or civilians to get out.

“A temporary pause that’s localized that would allow us to get aid in and to get our people out is a good thing for the people of Gaza, it’s a good thing for the Americans that are being held hostage, and it’s not going to stop Israel from defending itself,” John Kirby, a White House spokesperson for national security issues, told reporters Thursday.

Kirby said the U.S. is exploring the idea of brokering “as many pauses as might be necessary to continue to get aid [in] and to continue to get people out safely, including hostages.” 

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He noted that it would not mean a break in security aid from the U.S. to Israel, pushing back on the notion that a humanitarian pause would leave the Jewish state vulnerable to another attack.

Dozens of aid trucks have made their way into Gaza in recent days through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, though officials have argued the pace is still inadequate compared with the need. Roughly 80 U.S. citizens and their family members have also been able to leave Gaza since Wednesday, officials said.

Who has backed a pause?

President Biden heads toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. (Greg Nash)

Other administration officials, including President Biden, have similarly backed the idea of a humanitarian pause this week.

Biden was confronted by a protester at a fundraiser in Minnesota on Wednesday night calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

“I think we need a pause,” he responded. “A pause means give time to get the prisoners out.”

Biden indicated Wednesday that he convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to such a pause last month to allow for the release of two Americans taken hostage by Hamas.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will reportedly push Israeli officials to support a humanitarian pause during a visit there Friday.

Administration still opposes a cease-fire

Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) arrives for a hearing entitled, “Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature,” on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. (Greg Nash)

The administration has stopped short of backing a cease-fire in Gaza, despite calls from some Democratic lawmakers and activist groups.

A cease-fire would mean a complete stoppage of fighting in which all sides involved lay down their arms. Such an agreement is typically reached in an effort to fully end hostilities or reach a formal truce, Kirby said Thursday.

The White House has argued a cease-fire would ultimately benefit Hamas and allow the terrorist group time to regroup and strategize.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Thursday said he thinks it is time for a cease-fire in Gaza, something progressive lawmakers in the House have been calling for since shortly after the Hamas terrorist attacks took place.

Advocacy groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations have also urged Biden to support a cease-fire.