Israel and Hamas have agreed upon a Qatar brokered-deal that will allow medicines to be delivered to Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for the delivery of medicine and humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, according to CNN.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who is on a visit to Israel, is expected to talk about the efforts to be more surgical and more precise, stressing that it should reduce the harm to civilians, according to Voice of America (VOA).
"We have raised directly with the Israeli Government about the need to distinguish between Hamas terrorists and Palestinian civilians. This is something that the Secretary has raised directly on his travels. We even laid out that we believe that there are commitments that can be made addi
The United States has emphasised that the fact that Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields in Gaza, does not lessen Israel's responsibility of protecting the civilians, The Hill reported.
The two leaders held talks on the Israel-Hamas conflict, humanitarian access for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and the need for all hostages to be released immediately.
As the Israeli Army 'expanded' ground incursion in Gaza, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry condemned any ground operations by Israeli forces that may cause threats to the lives of Palestinian civilians.
Amid Israel's military response to the October 7 terror attacks, US President Joe Biden on Thursday said the terrorist group Hamas was hiding behind Palestinian civilians, stressing that they are despicable and cowardly.
"As this Council and the UN General Assembly have repeatedly affirmed, all acts of terrorism are unlawful and unjustifiable. They're unlawful and unjustifiable, whether they target people in Nairobi or Bali Istanbul or Mumbai, in New York or Kibbutz Be'eri," Blinken said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said "humanitarian pauses" in the Gaza war must be considered in order to protect Palestinian civilians, The Times of Israel reported.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the Gaza hospital explosion incident and said that he is "horrified" by the killings of Palestinian civilians.