The White House: A Gaza ceasefire would only benefit Hamas

Shafaq News / The White House stated on Tuesday that the ceasefire declaration in Gaza "only serves Hamas" while Israel conducts an airstrike campaign against the Palestinian movement. They have called for considering "pauses" in the bombardment to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to the region.

The remarks from the White House came as US President Joe Biden pointed out that aid is not reaching Gaza "quickly enough." The area has been under continuous Israeli bombardment since Hamas initiated attacks on October 7.

John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, told reporters, "A ceasefire, right now, would only serve Hamas."

Hundreds of Hamas fighters infiltrated Israel from Gaza on October 7 in an attack that resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 people in Israel, the majority of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. According to the latest figures from the Israeli military, "Hamas" took 222 hostages, including foreigners.

In response to the attack, Israel launched intense airstrikes and artillery shelling on Gaza, leading to the death of over 5,700 Palestinians, as reported by the Health Ministry in the region under Hamas.

On Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, while European Union leaders consider calling for a suspension of combat operations.

While Washington opposes a complete ceasefire, Kirby stated, "Suspending combat operations to facilitate the delivery of aid is something that needs to be looked at. We want every measure taken to protect civilians, and suspending combat operations is a tactic that could serve this purpose for temporary periods." He emphasized that "suspending combat operations and a ceasefire are not the same."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier on Tuesday called on the United Nations Security Council to support a draft resolution prepared by the United States, calling for a "humanitarian pause" in the bombing to allow aid to be delivered, without calling for a complete ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Kirby noted that the US had urged Israel to minimize civilian casualties, emphasizing that some civilian casualties are unavoidable. He stated, "It is war; it is combat; it is bloody and ugly. It is going to be chaotic, and innocent civilians are going to get hurt. I wish I could tell you something different, and I wish that this was not going to happen, but it will."