On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Katy Tur Reports,” White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that while the suffering of civilians in Gaza is due to Hamas, Israel has a “special responsibility” and needs to do more to prevent harm to civilians.
Kirby said, “[T]hese images are difficult, difficult to take in, to look at, to try to fathom the level of suffering that the people of Gaza are experiencing right now, suffering that was caused by Hamas’ decision to break a ceasefire and attack Israel.”
He added, “Jake Sullivan, our National Security Adviser, just had these conversations again with our Israeli counterparts, urging them to, again, be more careful, more deliberate, more cautious in the way they’re going after these Hamas targets, legitimate targets though they may be, there’s an added burden on Israel because of the way Hamas hides behind the human population in Gaza. There’s an added burden that makes it tougher on the Israelis to go after those leaders without causing civilian harm. And I would tell you, as we’ve said before, that the Israelis are receptive to that message, they’re listening, they understand it, they know they have this special responsibility, and they are making an effort to try to be more careful. We see that in the number of forces that they’re applying in north Gaza, which was smaller than normal. We see that in a reduced reliance on airstrikes. We see that in the dropping of leaflets, telling people where safe areas [are], and opening up humanitarian corridors for the free flow and safety of people out of harm’s way. Can more be done? Absolutely, more can be done. And that’s one of the messages that Jake delivered when he was in Israel, and we’re going to keep working with them on that.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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