13.02.2024 02:42
'We do not want to see civilian casualties or innocent civilians killed, whether they be Palestinian or Israeli,' says Department of Defense spokesman.
The US expressed concern Monday over the human suffering in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues its attacks on the enclave.
"We certainly do not want to see any more suffering, human suffering among those in Gaza," Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.
Ryder added that the US is actively communicating with its Israeli partners on the importance of taking civilians into account in planning and conducting their operations.
His remarks came as the Israeli army plans to launch a ground offensive in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, which is home to more than 1 million people seeking refuge from the war, to defeat what Tel Aviv calls the remaining "Hamas battalions."
The planned offensive has triggered concerns of a humanitarian catastrophe.
"When it comes to civilian casualties, as you've heard me say many times, we do not want to see civilian casualties or innocent civilians killed, whether they be Palestinian or Israeli. And that will continue to be our view going forward," Ryder said.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas, killing at least 28,340 people and injuring 67,984 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli onslaught has left 85% of Gaza's population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN. -