The Biden administration has told Israel it must act to avoid “significant further displacement” of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza if it renews its ground campaign aimed at eliminating the Hamas militant group, senior US officials said.
The administration, to avoid larger civilian casualties or mass displacement than could have been seen before the current pause in fighting, has insisted to the Israelis that they must operate with greater precision in southern Gaza than in the north, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. Journalists have been briefed on the condition of not doing so.
Amid international and domestic pressure over the mounting Palestinian death toll, the White House is increasingly pressuring Israel that the approach to the upcoming campaign must be “carefully thought through,” according to one official. The Israelis have been receptive when administration officials have raised these concerns, the official said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that the Israel Defense Forces will eventually resume military operations after the end of the current, temporary ceasefire that has allowed a hostage exchange with Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The two sides agreed on Monday to extend the ceasefire for an additional two days and continue the prisoner swap.
President Joe Biden has said he wants to see the moratorium — which has allowed a surge of much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza — continue as long as possible. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will return to the Middle East this week as the US looks for ways to extend the ceasefire and free more hostages, the State Department said on Monday. It will be his third visit to the region since Israel’s war with Hamas broke out last month.
Still, Biden and top officials have also kept a clear eye on Israel’s willingness to continue operations focused on Hamas, which have focused largely on the north for the past seven weeks. They have said they support Israel’s goal of eliminating Hamas’ control of Gaza and the threat it poses to Israeli civilians, but have been more vocal about the need to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians. Hamas is known to seek refuge among the region’s civilian population, and Israeli officials have released videos from northern Gaza of what they say are weapons caches and firing positions among civilian infrastructure.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting began on Oct. 7, nearly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people were killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers were killed in the Israeli ground operation.
The United States believes about 2 million Palestinians are now in southern and central Gaza. Biden administration officials have made it clear to the Israelis that the already stretched humanitarian aid network will be unable to deal with the kind of displacement suffered by Israel’s retaliatory strikes and ground operations from northern Gaza.
Biden administration officials also told the Israelis that they would conduct operations in a way that would be “maximum non-conflicting” with humanitarian aid facilities, UN-backed shelters and key infrastructure, including electricity and water.
The World Health Organization has warned that the war has led to a growing public health crisis that is a recipe for epidemics as displaced Palestinians are forced to take shelter in cramped homes and camps.
An administration official said medical supplies flowing into Gaza included vaccines, but also focused on drinking water supplies and sanitation to prevent outbreaks of typhoid and cholera. To that end, the White House has also pushed for as much fuel as possible to be brought into Gaza — something the Israelis resisted, especially in the first weeks of the war, citing concerns that it would be siphoned off by Hamas.
Officials said the United States will send the first of three U.S. military humanitarian aid flights to northern Egypt on Tuesday carrying medical supplies, food aid and winter items for Gaza’s civilian population. This aid will be distributed to Gaza by the United Nations.