The US has held “active conversations” with Israel about a humanitarian pause to allow for the release of hostages in Gaza, the White House said on Friday.

“We absolutely believe that that if a pause can be effected to allow for the…release of hostages, then that is something we absolutely would support and we believe Israel should support it,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

“We’ve been having active conversations with them about that,” he added.

Kirby added the US would “continue to press with our partners in the region” to see the hostages released.

“If that requires a localized, temporary pause to do it, then we are absolutely supportive of that. We’re in support of whatever effort can be made to get them home safely to their families,” Kirby said.

Kirby also indicated the United States supports a pause in operations in Gaza to get humanitarian aid, fuel and electricity to civilians there.

The comments came after IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the IAF has been intensifying its air strikes in Gaza and added that the IDF ground forces would be intensifying the ground operation.

Kirby would not say if Israel had informed the United States before the announcement.

“So, I'm not going to talk about in getting into details of the conversations that we have with our Israeli counterparts and the information, the flow between us,” he said. “I think that would be a very imprudent place for me to go.

He also declined to say if the Biden administration has confidence that Israel has fully considered the ramifications of a ground operation.

Kirby said he was "not going to talk about their decision-making process" or what is unfolding on the ground in Gaza.

"They have to speak to that, and they have to be able to answer the questions about the soundness of their planning and the effectiveness of their execution,” he said.

Meanwhile, CNN reported a large series of explosions which rocked Gaza City Friday night.

Multiple residents of Gaza told CNN the air strikes Friday night were “the most intense they have experienced” since the beginning of hostilities nearly three weeks ago.

(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)