World

Netanyahu open to 'tactical' pauses in the Israel–Palestine Conflict

The Israeli prime minister has rejected calls for a ceasefire, but says he would be open to short pauses in fighting, while the UAE announces it will open a field hospital in Gaza

Airstrike central: Missiles light up the sky above a darkened city at night during the Israel–Palestine conflict (photo: DW)
Airstrike central: Missiles light up the sky above a darkened city at night during the Israel–Palestine conflict (photo: DW)  DW

  • Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlines reasons for potential pauses in fighting

  • UAE to open field hospital in Gaza Strip

  • Israeli forces arrest Palestinian activist in West Bank

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Netanyahu rejects ceasefire but open to 'little' pauses

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again ruled out a ceasefire, but has said he would be open to the "possibility" of tactical "pauses" in the Israeli Defense Forces' ground operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the US, the EU, the UK, France, Germany, Canada and several other nations, has taken more than 200 hostages from Israel and killed 1,400 people in terror attacks in southern Israel a month ago.

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"As far as tactical little pauses — an hour here, an hour there — we've had them before. I suppose we'll check the circumstances in order to enable goods, humanitarian goods to come in, or our hostages, individual hostages, to leave," Netanyahu said in an interview with US broadcaster ABC on Monday, 6 November.

"But I don't think there's going to be a general ceasefire."

Netanyahu discussed the possibility of such pauses with US president Joe Biden in a phone call on Monday too, the White House said.

"We consider ourselves at the beginning of this conversation, not at the end of it," US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said. "You can expect that we're going to continue to advocate for temporary, localised pauses in the fighting."

According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 10,000, with more than 4,100 children among the victims.

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, 6 November, reiterated his calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages taken by Hamas. He also pushed for the end of the "spiral of escalation" in the West Bank.

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Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi arrested

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it arrested 22-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi in the occupied West Bank on 6 November.

Tamimi "is suspected of inciting violence and calling for terrorist activity to be carried out", the Israeli military have alleged.

Some Israeli media outlets shared screenshots of an Instagram story from an account named @ahed_tamimi15. The text threatened to "slaughter" Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

However, her mother, Nariman Tamimi, said her daughter denied the allegations. The activist's mother told Reuters that Ahed does not have an Instagram account.

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UAE to open field hospital in Gaza Strip

The United Arab Emirates has meanwhile said that it will establish a fully equipped field hospital in the Gaza Strip, per its state news agency's report on 6 November.

The field hospital will be equipped with 150 beds and will include intensive care and paediatric units.

Five aircraft carrying equipment have reportedly departed from Abu Dhabi on Monday for Al-Arish airport in Egypt.

The report did not clarify whether there was an agreement with Israel regarding the initiative.

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