Israel-Hamas war: Biden nudges Netanyahu for three-day pause in fighting, says report

US President Joe Biden has nudged Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a 3-day pause in fighting and has said that such a pause may help in securing the release of hostages currently in Hamas custody, Axios reported on Tuesday (November 7) citing US and Israeli officials. The report said that a proposal being discussed between the US, Israel and Qatar would require Hamas to release 10-15 hostages and use the three-day pause to verify the identities of all hostages after which it will give a list of names of these people.

The White House has already saidthat Biden and Netanyahu have discussed "the possibility of tactical pauses to provide civilians with opportunities to safely depart from areas of ongoing fighting, to ensure assistance is reaching civilians in need, and to enable potential hostage releases."

In public, however, Netanyahu has vehemently maintained that no ceasefire was possible until all hostages were freed.

Video | Israel-Hamas war: Fate of captives uncertain as war drags on

On Tuesday (November 7) Netanyahu said that in addition to encircling Gaza City, the Israeli army was operating inside as well. He was speaking in a televised address. He repeated his position that there will be no ceasefire or fuel delivery inside Gaza before all hostages are freed.

Netanyahu has previously said that Israel will take over "overall security" in Gaza after the war is over. This has led many to speculate that the Israeli side is planning for long-term deployment of its forces inside Gaza.

US opposes 'reoccupation' of Gaza by Israel

On Tuesday, the US said that it did not support 'reoccupation' of Gaza by Israel.

"Generally speaking, we do not support the reoccupation of Gaza and neither does Israel," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

"Our viewpoint is that Palestinians must be at the forefront of these decisions and Gaza is Palestinian land and it will remain Palestinian land."

Israel captured the Gaza Strip after the 1967 Six-Day War. It withdrew its forces in 2005. After Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, Israel imposed a blockade.

Hamas fighters crossed the border and staged an attack inside Israel on October 7 which saw the deaths of at least 1400 people. Hamas also took hostages, and barring a few,almost all of them remain in its custody.

After the Hamas attack, Israel responded with overwhelming military might and has continuously bombarded Gaza in air raids and has even scaled up ground operations by deploying tanks and troops.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said that the death toll in the enclave has crossed the 10,300 mark.

(With inputs from agencies)