US says Israel must protect civilians in Gaza

Israel has a responsibility to protect the lives of innocent people in Gaza, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said yesterday amid a growing outcry over Palestinian civilian deaths.

With the death toll in the Gaza Strip in the thousands and climbing, US President Joe Biden’s administration has been under increasing pressure to make clear that its steadfast support of Israel does not translate into a blanket endorsement of all that its ally is doing in the impoverished coastal enclave.

In a round of television interviews, Sullivan said Washington was asking hard questions of Israel, including on issues surrounding humanitarian aid, distinguishing between terrorists and innocent civilians and on how Israel is thinking through its military operation.

“What we believe is that every hour, every day of this military operation, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), the Israeli government should be taking every possible means available to them to distinguish between Hamas terrorists who are legitimate military targets and civilians who are not,” Sullivan said on CNN.

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