US says Israel must protect Gaza civilians as calls for aid grow
A picture taken from Israel's southern city of Sderot shows smoke billowing during a Israeli strike on Gaza on 23 October 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas. (Photo by Jack Guez / AFP)
Israel must protect innocent Gaza residents by distinguishing between Hamas militants and civilians, the White House warned Sunday, as world leaders stepped up calls for desperately needed humanitarian aid to reach the war-torn Palestinian territory.
Israel has intensified its air and ground operations against Hamas in Gaza following a bloody attack by the Palestinian militant group more than three weeks ago that Israeli authorities say killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians.
Since the 7 October attack, more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's relentless retaliatory bombardments, half of them children, says the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
The United Nations warned Sunday that the "civil order" was starting to collapse in Gaza after thousands of people ransacked its food warehouses there, taking wheat, flour, and other supplies.
The bloodshed saw the Biden administration warn Israel on Sunday that it must protect civilian lives.
While the US ally has the right to defend itself, it must do so "in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law that prioritizes the protection of civilians," Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call, the White House said.
He spoke after his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN that Israel "should be taking every possible means available to them to distinguish between Hamas — terrorists, who are legitimate military targets — and civilians, who are not."
Biden also spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and the two leaders "committed to the significant acceleration and increase of assistance flowing into Gaza beginning today," according to a readout from the White House.
That announcement came as other world leaders also issued urgent calls for aid to Gaza.
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron "stressed the importance of getting urgent humanitarian support" into the Palestinian territory, while UN chief Antonio Guterres said the situation was getting "more desperate by the hour."