US President Joe Biden has called for a “pause” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
A heckler urged the president to declare a cease-fire during a campaign speech in Minneapolis.
“I think we need a pause,” he said, explaining that it would allow hostages to escape.
An unspecified number of American citizens left Gaza on Wednesday, becoming the first group to leave since the war began. Another 400 people are scheduled to leave on Thursday.
When the conflict began, the Okals, a suburban Massachusetts family, were visiting relatives in Gaza. They are on the list provided by the Gaza border authority.
According to family friend Sammy Nabulsi, Abood Okal, Wafaa Abouyzada, and their one-year-old son Yousef have been living in “dire and dangerous” circumstances.
There are no Canadians on the list for Wednesday or Thursday. According to Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, 400 Canadian citizens, mostly dual nationals, are trapped in Gaza.
Israel has been bombing Gaza since the 7 October Hamas attacks, which killed 1,400 people and kidnapped 239 others.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, over 9,000 people have been killed since Israel’s retaliatory bombing began.
The president stated in his speech on Wednesday that a pause would “give time to get the prisoners out.”
According to the Associated Press, White House officials later explained that he meant both getting hostages held by Hamas out and humanitarian aid in.
The UN has called for a ceasefire to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where an estimated 1.4 million people have been displaced.
However, the UK, US, Canada, and EU have refrained from calling for a ceasefire, citing Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the US and several Western governments.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, new House Speaker Mike Johnson, one of the most powerful Republicans in the US government, categorically rejected the idea of a ceasefire.
“Israel doesn’t need a ceasefire,” he said. “It needs its allies to cease with the politics and deliver support now, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Mr Johnson stated that the House would vote on a $14.3 billion (£11.7 billion) aid package for Israel later on Thursday.
Democrats are expected to block the bill in the Senate because it includes steep cuts in funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Even so, President Biden has stated that if the legislation that reaches his desk includes cuts to the tax collection agency, he will veto it.
