US calls on Israel ‘to do more’ to spare Gaza civilians

Top US officials called on Israel on Monday to do more to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip and sought to restart talks aimed at releasing hostages.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, making his second trip to Israel since the 7 October Hamas attacks, declared that U.S. support for Israeli security “remains unshakable.”

But he also said that “democracies are stronger and more secure when we uphold the law of war.”

“As I’ve said, protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral duty and a strategic imperative,” he told a press briefing. “So, we will continue to stand up for Israel’s bedrock right to defend itself. And we will also continue to urge the protection of civilians during conflict and to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

Though Mr. Gallant said “there is no clock that is running,” he acknowledged that Israeli officials were discussing the next part of the conflict, as the Biden administration tries to persuade Israel to shift to more targeted operations after more than two months of heavy airstrikes.

“Soon, we will be able to distinguish between different areas in Gaza,” Mr. Gallant said. “In every area where we achieve our mission, we will be able to transition gradually to the next phase and start working on bringing back the local population.”

That could “be achieved maybe sooner in the north than in the south,” he said, adding that he was only trying to convey “an idea of what we are discussing.”

It is unclear what returning home might look like for Gazans. More than 60% of the housing units in the territory have been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations. The vast majority of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents have been displaced, with many packing into crowded shelters or living on the streets near the Egyptian border.

The Israeli military said on Sunday that the hostages, all Israelis, had tried to use leftover food to create signs calling for help. The men emerged shirtless from a building, carrying a makeshift white flag, and tried to tell approaching Israeli soldiers in Hebrew that they were civilians, the military said.

The deaths have created widespread anguish in Israel, and prompted renewed calls for a pause in the fighting to allow more hostages to be released. On Monday, Hamas released the first video of hostages since the exchange agreement collapsed.