Israel’s offensive needs to have “less intensity”, says US

The United States wants Israel to shift its military operations in the Gaza Strip to a phase of “lower intensity”, with attacks more targeted at Hamas leadership and its infrastructure, said US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, this Wednesday (Dec 20, 2023). The information is from Reuters.

Speaking to journalists, Blinken stated that, with this change, the “harm caused to civilians” should decrease significantly. The secretary reaffirmed the White House’s call for Israel to fulfill its obligation to minimize civilian casualties when fighting the extremist group.

“We hope to see a transition to more targeted operations, with a smaller number of forces really focused on dealing with the Hamas leadership, tunnel network and some other critical issues.”these

Last week, the US, Tel Aviv’s closest ally, asked Israel to reduce the intensity of its war operations, opting for a more specific campaign against Hamas leaders.

On Monday (Dec 18), Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, announced a gradual transition to what he called the next phase of operations in Gaza.

In a statement to journalists, Gallant indicated that the population may initially return to northern Gaza, the most densely populated region before the Israeli invasion. But neither Austin nor Gallant provided a timetable for what authorities called operations “more surgical”.

Blinken reaffirmed that the United States continues to believe “that Israel does not need to choose between eliminating the threat from Hamas and minimizing the impact on civilians in Gaza”. He said that the country has the “obligation” to do both.