US tells Israel: Limit further civilian displacement in southern Gaza or…

The Joe Biden- led US administration has told Israel that it must work to avoid “significant further displacement” of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza in case it ground campaign against Hamas, senior US officials said as per news agency Associated Press.

US is seeking to avoid more large-scale civilian casualties or mass displacement as seen before the current temporary pause in the fighting.

US officials underscored to the Israelis that they must operate with far greater precision in southern Gaza than they did in the north, the officials said as per the report. This comes amid mounting international and domestic pressure about the rising Palestinian death toll.

“The White House has begun to put greater pressure on Israel that the manner of the coming campaign must be carefully thought through,” according to one of the officials.

“The Israelis have been receptive when administration officials have raised these concerns”, the official added.

Meanwhile, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that they would eventually restart military operations after the conclusion of the current cease-fire which has allowed for an exchange of hostages taken by Hamas. The two sides have agreed to extend the truce for an additional two days and continue swapping hostages for prisoners.

Although, US president Joe Biden said that he would like to see the pause continue as long as it is feasible. US secretary of state Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as US hopes to find a way to extend the cease-fire and get more hostages released, the State Department said. It will be his third trip to the region since Israel’s war with Hamas began last month.

More than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on October 7, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack.