Israel agrees to 4-hour war 'pauses' as US, Israeli spy chiefs hold talks in Doha

Israel has agreed to begin daily four-hour military pauses in northern Gaza to allow people in the area to flee the war with Hamas, the White House said on Thursday.

"Israel will begin to implement four-hour pauses in areas of northern Gaza each day, with an announcement to be made three hours beforehand," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Israeli and U.S. spy chiefs were meanwhile in Qatar for talks on "a potential humanitarian pause" to the war raging in Gaza since October 7, an official with knowledge of the visit said Thursday.

CIA director Bill Burns and David Barnea, head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, "are both visiting Doha for trilateral talks with the Qataris to work through the details of a potential humanitarian pause that would see the release of hostages and more aid entering Gaza," the official told AFP requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

"Talks have been progressing well towards a deal in the past few days," the official said.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh meanwhile arrived in Egypt for talks about the war, the militant group said.

Hamas said in a statement that its delegation had met with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel "for discussions on the current situation in the Gaza Strip."