Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in fighting, according to the White House, focusing on areas in northern Gaza.
The pauses will start Thursday, with the U.S. saying it has secured a second pathway for civilians to flee.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in an NBC News interview that Palestinian militant group Hamas has made no real offer to free the roughly 240 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip.
Herzog, as Israel's head of state, does not make policy, which is decided by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, stressing that the protection of civilians is "not negotiable." Macron's comments were at a humanitarian aid conference for Gaza in Paris.