Blinken urges 'humanitarian pauses,' but US won't back cease-fire in Gaza

Editor's Note: For the latest news on the Israel-Hamas conflict, please see our live updates file here.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken encouraged Tuesday the implementation of “humanitarian pauses’’ in the Israel-Hamas war, though the Biden administration said that doesn’t mean a ceasefire, which it believes would benefit the militants.

At a tense meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Blinken reiterated the U.S. position that Israel has the right and duty to defend itself after the “slaughter of its people’’ by Hamas forces in the stunning Oct. 7 onslaught that killed more than 1,400 on Israeli soil. He also noted the means of defense makes a difference, as Israel intensifies a bombing campaign that has devastated Gaza and, according to Hamas, killed nearly 6,000 Palestinians.

Blinken called for Palestinian civilians to be protected, both from Hamas using them as human shields and from the Israeli bombardment and a siege that has largely kept water, food, medicines and fuel from coming into Gaza, creating a humanitarian crisis.

That protection, Blinken said, “means civilians must be able to get out of harm’s way. It means humanitarian pauses must be considered for these purposes.’’

It also means a ceasefire, according to U.N. leadership and countries like China that are pushing for one. But President Joe Biden made it clear Monday that he would not support a ceasefire until the approximately 220 hostages Hamas still holds captive are released.

And the White House drew a distinction Tuesday between a humanitarian pause and a ceasefire, saying they’re different in terms of duration and scope.

“We want to see all measure of protection for civilians,’’ National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “And pauses in operation is a tool and a tactic can do that for temporary periods of time. That is not the same as saying a ceasefire. Again, right now, we believe a ceasefire benefits Hamas.’’

Hamas frees two more hostages: US pushes for delayed Gaza invasion

Developments:

∎ The U.S. is transferring its two Iron Dome systems to Israel to improve its air defenses, Bloomberg reported.

∎ Blinken said the number of Americans confirmed dead in the Hamas attacks is now up to 33, and 10 remain unaccounted for.

∎ The U.S. Maritime Administration issued a warning Tuesday to ships traveling through the Red Sea to “exercise caution when transiting this region" after a recent drone and missile attack launched from Yemen.

∎ A pregnant woman in Gaza whose apartment was hit by an airstrike Tuesday sustained multiple fractures and abdominal bleeding, but doctors performed an emergency C-section and delivered her baby. Navine Abu Owdah had a healthy girl, Dr. Salim Saqer said in Khan Younis.

∎ Hamas is guilty of "unspeakable brutality," but Israel's military response must strictly abide by international law to shape opinion and build alliances − because it is the right thing to do, former President Barack Obama said in a statement posted on the online site Medium.

'Then we can talk': Biden says no cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war until hostages released

UN chief: Hamas attack 'did not happen in a vacuum'

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, addressing the Security Council in New York, said a ceasefire was needed "to ease epic suffering, make the delivery of aid easier and safer and facilitate the release of hostages.”

He also accused Israel of violating global humanitarian law in Gaza and pleaded for the protection of civilians in the war-torn territory. Guterres said Palestinian grievances don't justify the "appalling" Hamas attack that shocked Israel and the world but said that doesn't warrant the punishment now raining down on the Palestinian people.

"It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum," Guterres said. "The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation."

The comments evoked strong condemnation from Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the U.N., who called them "shocking'' and "unfathomable'' in a tweet, saying they excused Hamas' actions.

"It’s truly sad that the head of an organization that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views. A tragedy!'' said Erdan, who called on Guterres to resign.

French leader Macron says Israel not alone fighting terrorism

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Israel on Tuesday, expressing support and saying the country is “not left alone in the war against terrorism.” He also offered comfort to French families impacted by the Hamas attack, which killed 30 French nationals. Another nine are missing.

After a news conference in Jerusalem alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Macron said Israel's fight against Hamas "must be without mercy, but not without rules,” he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank. Macron noted the Hamas rampage was “also a catastrophe” for Palestinians.

At the U.N., Blinken pointed out more than 30 member countries had citizens killed in the rampage. “This council has a responsibility to denounce member states that arm, that fund and train Hamas, or any other terrorist group that carries out such horrific acts,'' he said.

Freed Israeli hostage, 85, recalls Hamas 'hell,' kindness

The release of two more hostages and reports that talks were underway involving dozens more captives offered a glimmer of hope Tuesday for the families of more than 200 people held by Hamas since the murderous attack by militants into Israel less than three weeks ago.

One of the elderly hostages released Monday shared a harrowing tale of survival. Yocheved Lifshitz, speaking at a hospital in Tel Aviv, said she was swept out of Israel on the back of a motorbike, her legs hanging off one side and her head off the other. Lifshitz, 85, said she was hit by Hamas militants, forced to walk for miles through a web of underground tunnels and went through “hell.”

But she said captors later treated hostages “gently,” fed them and allowed them to wash. She said the operation was organized and appeared to have been planned well in advance.

Lifshitz was released with Nurit Cooper, 79, after negotiations involving Egypt and Qatar. A video released by Hamas shows Lifshitz shaking hands with one of her captors as she is freed − and saying “shalom,” the Hebrew word for peace, tranquility or harmony as well as hello or goodbye.

Gaza health officials report 'complete collapse' of hospitals

Twelve hospitals and 32 health centers in Gaza are out of service because of damage from bombings or a lack of desperately needed supplies of food, fuel and medicine, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Tuesday.

"The Ministry of Health announces the complete collapse of hospitals in the Gaza Strip," the statement said. "Hospital doors remaining open does not mean that they are providing service to the flood of wounded people flowing into them."

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 704 people in the past day, the most deadly of the war for Gaza residents, ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said in the statement. He put the Palestinian death toll at 5,791, including 2,360 children, At least 16,297 people have been wounded and another 1,550 are missing. Those figures have not been independently verified.

"We call on all parties to ensure the flow of medical aid according to hospital priorities to save the wounded," the statement said.

Israel said the 400 airstrikes it had launched over the past day struck command centers, killed Hamas commanders and hit militants preparing to launch rockets into Israel. More than 1,400 Israelis have died since the Hamas attack Oct. 7. The vast majority were killed in the first hours of the war.

Tensions over Gaza fuel supply

Israel’s military appeared to suggest on Tuesday that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ask Hamas for fuel after the agency said it urgently needed supplies or it would be forced to stop operations the next day.

UNRWA posted the warning on X earlier Tuesday, which read: “#Gaza operation will end tomorrow 'if we don't get fuel.'”

The Israel Defense Forces quoted the post, replying that there are about 132,000 gallons worth of fuel tanks in Gaza, and to "Ask Hamas if you can have some." The post included an unspecified satellite image.

The UN reported earlier this week that hospitals in Gaza were running low on fuel, putting more than 100 premature babies at “grave risk,” the Associated Press reported.

In the last 18 days since the conflict began, about 2,360 children were reportedly killed and 5,364 were injured, totaling more than 400 incidents daily, according to a report by United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. More than 30 Israeli children were also reportedly killed, and many remain captive on the Gaza Strip.

UNICEF said the 18-day period is the deadliest escalation seen in Gaza since 2006.

“The situation in the Gaza Strip is a growing stain on our collective conscience. The rate of death and injuries of children is simply staggering,” said Adele Khodr, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a statement. “Even more frightening is the fact that unless tensions are eased, and unless humanitarian aid is allowed, including food, water, medical supplies and fuel, the daily death toll will continue to rise.”

The agency said on Tuesday that fuel is of “paramount importance” to operate hospitals, desalination plants, and water pumping stations.

Western media called out for ‘double standards' by Jordan’s Queen Rania

Queen Rania of Jordan, who is of Palestinian descent, on Tuesday condemned Western media’s coverage of the war in Gaza, saying there is a "glaring double standard” in how Westerners cover attacks on Palestinian and Jewish communities.

“It has been very disappointing to see the double standards in the world today, to see the strong condemnation of what happened on 7 October but very little condemnation of what is happening today,” she told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview. “The silence is deafening – and to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit.”

Rania also spoke about a temporary stop to the conflict.

“Why isn't there a call for an immediate ceasefire? We are seeing staggering human suffering happening today, so why is the narrative always skewed towards the Israeli side?" she said.

Arab leaders across the world have voiced their frustrations with the U.S. government's perceived unwillingness to rein in Israel’s attacks in Gaza. Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority pulled out of a planned summit in Jordan with President Joe Biden last week, CNN reported.

Sisterhood forms important bonds between Muslim, Jewish people in US

The war can put stress on relationships between Muslim and Jewish people in the U.S. who consider themselves friends. Long Island resident Cipora Eisenberg-Simms has family in Israel, some of whom are being called to serve in the Israeli military. She understands how difficult it is for her Muslim friends that her family members' service "is in direct conflict with the people they're thinking about as fellow Muslims."

Eisenberg-Simms belongs to Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that brings together Jewish and Muslim women to talk, learn and support each other, and to work together for peace.

"You're having to explain your own faith, and that makes you reengage with and reexamine it," she said. Read more here.

− Phaedra Trethan

US reportedly makes contingency plan to evacuate almost 700,000 Americans

The Biden administration is making plans to evacuate hundreds of thousands of Americans from the Middle East if the war threatens to spread across the region, the Washington Post reported, citing four officials familiar with contingency planning. The officials told the Post that Americans living in Israel and neighboring Lebanon are of particular concern, but that such an evacuation was considered a worst-case scenario. The State Department estimates that about 600,000 U.S. citizens were in Israel and 86,000 in Lebanon when Hamas attacked Oct. 7.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel-Hamas war live updates: Blinken urges 'humanitarian pauses'