Israel: Israel has faced growing pressure from the United States to avoid further harm to Palestinian civilians as it continues its fight against Hamas militants in Gaza.
This comes after the Israeli military stepped up its attacks on Gaza following the breakdown of a temporary ceasefire.
Fighting resumed on Friday following a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas despite more than 130 hostages remaining in captivity in the Gaza Strip. The Israel Défense Forces (IDF) said that it had hit more than 400 Hamas targets on the first day.
According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 193 Palestinians killed since the end of the weeklong truce, adding to the more than 15,000 Palestinian casualties since the beginning of the conflict.
US Vice President, Ms. Kamala Harris said that too many innocent Palestinians had been killed in Gaza. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary, Mr. Lloyd Austin deemed it a “moral responsibility” for Israel to protect civilians.
Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, remarked that, “We will continue the war until we achieve all its goals, and it’s impossible to achieve those goals without the ground operation.”
The Hamas-led interior ministry noted that seven Palestinians were killed and several injured in an Israeli raid on a house east of Rafah city in southern Gaza.
Ms. Kamala pointed out that, “Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering, and the images and videos coming from Gaza, are devastating.”
“If you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat,” Mr. Austin added.
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