Army spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said: “I repeat that there is no ceasefire, no ceasefire. This four-hour ceasefire is a tactical pause to (allow) humanitarian assistance in certain areas.”

The White House previously said Israel would begin daily four-hour pauses in the northern Gaza Strip to help Palestinians escape.

Israeli forces have completely encircled Gaza City in the past few days, and the army said it was allowing civilians to pass safely through the main Salah al-Din road for three hours a day. Wednesday.

But in the last forty-eight hours, the number of people leaving the town has increased.

“Despite the pressure from Hamas, we are still seeing tens of thousands of people moving,” Hecht said, adding that 64 trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday to deliver urgently needed aid to the Strip.

Hecht added that Israel is trying to increase the number of trucks in the future.

Hecht reiterated that the military campaign was aimed at eliminating Hamas following an Oct. 7 cross-border attack that Israel said killed 1,400 people and took 239 hostages, adding that the campaign was “paying off.”

Palestinian officials said Israeli air and artillery strikes had killed 10,812 Gazans as of Thursday, 40 percent of them children, as basic supplies ran out and areas were reduced to rubble by incessant shelling. .