US Advises Israel to Minimize Civilian Displacement in Southern Gaza Ground Campaign

The Biden administration has told Israel that it must work to avoid “significant further displacement” of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza if it renews its ground campaign aimed at eradicating the Hamas militant group, senior U.S. officials said.

The Democratic administration, seeking to avoid more large-scale civilian casualties or mass displacement like that seen before the current temporary pause in the fighting, underscored to the Israelis that they must operate with far greater precision in southern Gaza than they did in the north, the officials said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

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 said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear that Israeli Defense Forces will eventually restart military operations after the conclusion of the current, temporary cease-fire that has allowed for an exchange of hostages taken by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The two sides agreed Monday to extend the truce for an additional two days and to continue swapping hostages for prisoners.

President Joe Biden has said he would like to see the pause — which has also allowed a surge of much-needed humanitarian aid to get into Gaza — continue as long as feasible. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as the U.S. hopes to find a way to extend the cease-fire and get more hostages released, the State Department said Monday. It will be his third trip to the region since Israel’s war with Hamas began last month.

Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns and David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, as well as Egyptian officials met in Qatar on Tuesday for talks on the same matter, according to a diplomatic official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

Negotiations are turning to the dozens of Israeli men and Israeli security force members held captive in hopes of keeping the cease-fire and hostage-for-prisoner swap going, said Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said a U.S. military aircraft, a C-17 cargo plane, landed on Tuesday in Egypt with aid for Gaza, including medical supplies, food and clothing. The 54,000 pound shipment is the first of three U.S. military humanitarian aid flights to northern Egypt for Gaza’s civilian population planned for the coming days. The aid is to be delivered into Gaza by the United Nations.