Israel attacked the entire Gaza Strip on Thursday even as US officials warned of rising civilian casualties, and the IDF warned the US that the war against Hamas will continue until 2024.
“It will take a long period of time – it will last more than several months – but we will win and we will destroy them,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
As the war lasted more than two months and resulted in the deaths of more than 19,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the Jewish state has suffered a backlash from continued airstrike operations across the territory.
“I want them to focus on how to save civilian lives. “Don’t stop going after Hamas, but be more careful,” President Biden told reporters Thursday.
Biden, who defended U.S. support for the IDF and rejection of a U.N.-led truce deal, had previously described Israel’s bombings as “indiscriminate,” something U.S. officials were quick to try to walk back.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby went so far as to tell reporters on Wednesday that Israel’s airstrike campaign was more comprehensive than anything the United States would have done in its place in terms of avoiding civilian casualties.
Smoke rises over southern Gaza on Thursday following Israeli bombings. Ismael Mohamad/UPI/Shutterstock The IDF continues to advance throughout Gaza, taking over remaining Hamas strongholds in the north and south. FDI/GPO/SIPA/Shutterstock
Kirby praised the IDF for publishing alerts and maps of when and where airstrikes would occur to send civilians fleeing, tactics that have been criticized as questionable given major blackouts in the areas.
“That’s basically telegraphing your punches,” Kirby said. “There are very few modern armies in the world that would do that. “I don’t know if we would do that.”
Despite Kirby’s praise, a U.S. assessment of Israel’s roughly 29,000 airstrikes showed that nearly half of IDF strikes have been unguided “dumb bombs,” which pose threats to people living in the densely populated area. populated Gaza Strip, CNN reports.
Israeli flares light Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza, where thousands of people have fled and are now fleeing from. Ismael Mohamad/UPI/Shutterstock
Throughout the war, reports emerged of airstrikes that hit hospitals, refugee shelters and other civilian buildings, and Israel defended the strikes as necessary to eliminate hidden Hamas bases.
Several of the hostages who were freed in the seven-day ceasefire agreement also rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for airstrikes that hit near the places where they were being held.
Despite criticism of the bombings and their targeting, Israeli officials support the tactic and condemned the report analyzing air-to-ground explosions in Gaza since the war began.
Palestinians recover personal belongings after fleeing an airstrike aimed at Rafah. Ismael Mohamad/UPI/Shutterstock Israel has been accused of using inaccurate bombs in nearly half of its airstrikes in Gaza. Ismael Mohamad/UPI/Shutterstock
“There is no such thing as a ‘dumb bomb,'” Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter told Army Radio. “Some bombs are more precise, others are less precise. What we have are mostly pilots who are precise.”
Despite Dichter’s assurance, Sullivan met with Netanyahu on Thursday to discuss the need to make airstrikes more precise, Kirby told reporters.
The meeting between US and Israeli officials comes as the IDF continues to launch dual operations in northern and southern Gaza, where soldiers are closing in on Hamas headquarters located in civilian centers.
Palestinians mourn the loss of one person killed in Thursday’s airstrike in Rafah. Ismael Mohamad/UPI/Shutterstock
Despite evacuation orders, hundreds of people have been reported dead this week; Israel previously estimated that of the total victims, around 7,000 are Hamas members.
Nesmah al-Byouk, a resident of Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled after bombing devastated the north, cursed Israel after airstrikes destroyed her community.
“May God take revenge on them,” he said. “We came and saw everything destroyed, the house, the factory, our neighbors and the house, everyone had disappeared. Where can we go now?
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn