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U.S.: Israel Agrees to Protect Civilians when Gaza War Resumes

(Washington Post) Michael Birnbaum - The Israeli government agreed to form a "clear plan...that puts a premium on protecting civilians as well as sustaining and building on the humanitarian assistance that's getting into Gaza" before resuming its assault on southern Gaza, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday in Tel Aviv. Blinken said the U.S. wants Israel to designate safe zones for civilians to gather, to avoid significant further displacements, and to try to spare critical infrastructure such as hospitals. "I underscored the imperative to the United States that the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the scale we saw in northern Gaza not be repeated in the south," Blinken said. "As I told the prime minister, intent matters, but so does the result." Still, he indicated that the Biden administration had no intent to abandon Israel nor push for a permanent ceasefire so long as Hamas is able to threaten Israel from Gaza. Israeli experts say that balancing the desire to root out Hamas while extending full protection to civilians will be difficult, especially given the dense crowding in southern Gaza, where most of the residents from the north have gathered to escape the initial fighting. The IDF "will need to be very, very cautious," said Michael Milshtein, former chief of Palestinian affairs for Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. "It will not be easy."
2023-12-01 00:00:00
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