The United States on October 29 pressed Israel to protect civilians in Gaza and pushed for an immediate increase in humanitarian aid, amid a growing outcry over the human costs of Israel’s three-week bombardment of the enclave.
US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minster Netanyahu in a call that Israel has a right to defend itself and should do so in a way that is consistent with international law on protecting civilians, the White House said.
Biden and Netanyahu discussed efforts to protect the more than 200 hostages seized by Palestinian Hamas militants in a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 people.
The White House said Biden also “underscored the need to immediately and significantly increase the flow of humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza,” as supplies dwindle in the besieged coastal enclave.
In television interviews earlier on Sunday, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Israel has a responsibility to protect the lives of innocent people in Gaza.
Medical authorities in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of 2.3 million people, say 8,005 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s campaign to obliterate Iran-backed Hamas.
Hamas militants have embedded themselves among the Palestinian population and in civilian infrastructure, making an operation against them extremely difficult, Sullivan said.
(Inputs from Reuters)