After weeks of calls for a halt to the fighting in Gaza, Israel has agreed to “tactical, localized pauses” for four hours each day to allow for aid deliveries and civilian evacuations, a commitment some leaders and humanitarian organizations say is not enough. The United States and other Western allies have pressed for a humanitarian pause to improve conditions for civilians in the territory, which is facing food and water shortages, and has been described as a “graveyard for children.” But a senior Biden administration official said “a pause is something more, in our view, than a couple of hours” and suggested it should be “long enough to move significant quantities” of aid. President Biden said Thursday that he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a three-day pause.
