The US has warned Israel to engage in more surgical fighting in Gaza, officials say
The United States has warned Israel that it must fight more surgically and avoid further mass displacement of Palestinians in its war against Hamas to avoid a humanitarian crisis that overwhelms the world’s ability to respond, senior Biden administration officials said government.
The White House has told Israel that replicating the scale of its bombing campaign on northern Gaza, while making an expected advance into southern Gaza once the recent lull in fighting is over, would create a crisis that would stretch the capacity of any humanitarian support network, officials said Monday. night. The The United Nations said so The fighting has already displaced most of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents.
The statements are the Biden administration’s strongest warning yet to Israeli officials about the next phase of their military operation. For weeks, the White House has been careful to say it does not dictate how Israel conducts its military operations, but President Biden and senior members of his staff have become more vocal as the humanitarian crisis has unfolded.
They also come as government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic issues, said they were increasing humanitarian aid amid the ceasefire that took effect last week and expressed optimism that aid could to continue even if fighting resumed. .
U.S. officials have told Israelis, among other things, that upcoming military operations should not impede the flow of power and water or impede the work of humanitarian sites such as hospitals and U.N.-backed shelters in southern and central Gaza.
The Israeli government was receptive to the requests, the official said.
The ceasefire, to allow the exchange of Hamas hostages and Palestinians captured by Israel, has enabled the first extended break in violence since the October 7 attack by Hamas gunmen and other militant groups killing an estimated 1,200 people. in Israel. Health officials in Gaza say at least 13,000 people have been killed in the nearly 50-day Israeli bombardment and ground invasion that followed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear he intends for Israel to continue fighting after the ceasefire ends, although it was extended for another two days on Monday.
Biden administration officials said the United States planned to take advantage of the extra time. On Tuesday, the United States will begin deploying military relief flights to deliver medical supplies, food, winter supplies and other supplies to the civilian population in Egypt, which borders Gaza.
Extraordinary progress has already been made in aid delivery, the officials said, although they acknowledged that the level of aid was not sufficient to support normal life in Gaza. The officials also said the increase in aid, including much-needed fuel, was not conditional on the release of hostages, offering hope that shipments could continue if fighting resumed.
John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said Monday that since the pause in fighting took effect, Gaza had received the largest humanitarian convoy since the war began. The convoy brought the total number of relief trucks since Oct. 21 to more than 2,000, he said.
Mr Kirby said the government would “use every hour of every day that there is a lull to try to help the people of Gaza.”
“Our team has made it a priority to bring this much-needed aid into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians there,” Mr. Kirby said. “Of course, most of them have nothing to do with Hamas.”