Israel said it used one of its most advanced air and missile defense systems for the first time Thursday to intercept a missile launched toward Israel in the Red Sea region.

The system, known as the Arrow 3, is designed to intercept long-range missiles outside the atmosphere, according to a joint statement from Israel's military and Ministry of Defense.

The Israeli army on Friday bombed the outpatient and maternity building of Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital, causing deaths and injuries.

Israel has agreed pauses in its offensive in northern Gaza that will allow some civilians to flee heavy fighting, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out any broader ceasefire as a "surrender" to Hamas.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied the lobby of The New York Times on Thursday, accusing the media of betraying a bias toward Israel in its coverage of the war and demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

Hundreds of protesters led by a group of media workers calling themselves “Writers Bloc” gathered outside the publication’s Manhattan headquarters, with many of them entering the building’s atrium for a sit-in and vigil that lasted more than an hour.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war in Gaza will continue until Hamas is defeated but asserted that Israel has no intention to conquer or govern the blockaded territory after the fighting ends.

In an interview with Fox News that aired Thursday evening, Netanyahu made clear that though Israel had no intention of occupying Gaza, it did envision a radically reshaped territory free of Hamas.

Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, described Israel’s decision to allow a four-hour humanitarian pause each day in combat operations in northern Gaza to allow civilians to flee to the south as “very cynical and cruel.”

“There has been continuous bombings, 6,000 bombs every week on the Gaza Strip, on this tiny piece of land where people are trapped and the destruction is massive. There won’t be any way back after what Israel is doing to the Gaza Strip,” Albanese told reporters in Adelaide, Australia, on Friday.

Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight into Thursday as ground forces battled Hamas militants in dense urban neighborhoods near a hospital where tens of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering.

Gaza's largest city is the focus of Israel's campaign to crush Hamas following its deadly Oct. 7 incursion — and the Israeli military says Hamas' main command center is located in and under the Shifa Hospital complex. The militant group and hospital staff deny that claim. Troops were around 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the hospital, according to its director.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday there was currently "no possibility" of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

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.

French President Emmanuel Macron opened a Gaza aid conference on Thursday with an appeal for Israel to protect civilians, saying that "all lives have equal worth" and that fighting terrorism "can never be carried out without rules."

"Civilians must be protected. It's absolutely essential. It is non-negotiable," Macron said.

A U.S. drone was shot down by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Wednesday, according to the Iran-backed group’s military arm and a senior U.S. military official.

The Houthis said it was an MQ-9 Reaper drone that was in Yemeni air space and was shot down by air defenses. The senior U.S. official said the military is still analyzing the episode, including whether the drone was in international airspace or over Yemen. A second U.S. official said the MQ-9 Reaper was over international waters when it was shot down. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.