US says no surge in aid to Gaza and no pause in war until Israeli hostages are released

US White House Co-ordinator Brett McGurk said if Hamas wants to protect civilians then hostages should be freed immediately

Palestinian children wounded in Israeli strikes amid the Israel-Gaza war wait for treatment at Nasser Hospital. Reuters

Wounded Palestinians are assisted out of an ambulance to receive treatment at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Reuters

Displaced Palestinian children gather for breakfast at a refugee camp in Rafah. AFP

Children inside a damaged building following strikes on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

People salvage belongings from a damaged building following strikes on Rafah. AFP

A girl is assisted as Palestinians search for casualties after an Israeli strike on a house, in Rafa in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

A Palestinian woman is evacuated at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Rafah. Reuters

Police officers push back a counter protester who snatched a pro-Palestinian placard from a woman during a demonstration in solidarity with Gazans, London. Reuters

Israeli soldiers inside the Gaza Strip, amid the continuing ground operation. Reuters

An Israeli flag can be seen inside the Gaza Strip, from the Israeli side of the border. Reuters

A Palestinian woman evacuates her home, heading to the southern Gaza Strip. EPA

Thomas Hand, the father of Irish-Israeli Emily Hand, 8, who was announced dead following the October 7 attack, then later confirmed as one of the hostages held in Gaza, speaks from his hotel where he was evacuated to in Israel. Reuters

A residential building on fire following Israeli air strikes in Gaza city. Bloomberg

The rubble from destroyed residential buildings fills a street in Gaza city. Bloomberg

A Palestinian child drinks water as they evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip. EPA

Palestinians displaced from Gaza city head towards the south. Bloomberg

Palestinians flee to the southern Gaza Strip. AP

Palestinians flee to the southern Gaza Strip on Salah al-Din Street in Bureij, Gaza Strip. AP

A group picture ahead of an emergency meeting of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in Riyadh. AFP

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The release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas is the pathway to “pause” the war in Gaza, a top US official said on Saturday.

US White House Co-ordinator Brett McGurk, speaking during the annual Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain, called for the need to plan for the time after “Hamas is degraded” and said if the group wants to protect civilians then hostages should be freed immediately.

“The release of hostages is the pathway to a pause in the fighting. To pause the fighting, release the hostages, the women, the children, the toddlers, the babies,” he said.

“The onus here is on Hamas.

“I want to stress that once the hostages are released you will see a significant change.”

Mr McGurk said there was not enough aid coming into the Gaza Strip to meet the needs of civilians.

"We are working to get humanitarian aid into Gaza but the surge in humanitarian relief, the surge in fuel, the pause and fighting will come when hostages are released," Mr McGurk said.

He said the only way out of this conflict is “one that results in an Israel that is fully secure and the establishment of a Palestinian state”.

Israel has vowed to “crush” Hamas in response to the group's October 7 attack, when it broke through Gaza's militarised border to kill about 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Militants took about 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

Israel's army air and ground campaign has killed more than 11,400 people, including 5,000 children, according to Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.

“Israel will not go back to 6 October, neither will the Palestinians,” he said.

His statement came as Jordan's Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, said nothing will move without a US role in this crisis.