Blinken steps up call for Israel to spare civilians in strongest remarks yet

 Blinken steps up call for Israel to spare civilians in strongest remarks yet

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

Image caption,

Blinken (left) with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid during his fourth visit to Israel since the Gaza conflict began

By Barbara Plett Usher

BBC State Department correspondent

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has clearly laid out benchmarks for the protection of civilians in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

In the strongest and most specific US remarks yet, Mr Blinken said he'd told the Israeli government that it must avoid further mass displacement of Palestinians and damage to critical infrastructure, like hospitals, power stations and water facilities.

He did not, however, appear to set down red lines that would trigger US actions.

The secretary of state travelled to Israel to deliver the message - his fourth visit since the conflict began - at a time when hostilities have been paused by a deal to release hostages captured by Hamas.

Mr Blinken accepted that Israel planned to resume its military operation, but he also "underscored the imperative for the United States that the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the scale that we saw in northern Gaza not be repeated in the south".

• Biden facing internal dissent over Israel's Gaza campaign

Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October killed 1,200 people with around 240 others taken hostage. Since then, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says Israel has killed more than 14,800 Palestinians in its retaliatory campaign, including about 6,000 children.

Israeli military strikes have hit hospitals and schools and rendered northern Gaza a moonscape of destruction.

The unfolding devastation has shifted the approach of President Joe Biden's administration, from unequivocal support for Israel right after the attack, to a growing emphasis on civilian protection and a focus on alleviating the desperate humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

That evolution has been propelled by anger from Arab allies, and significant dissent to Mr Biden's policies within the administration itself.

Senior officials had been previewing Mr Blinken's message for a more surgical approach when Israel focuses its offensive on southern Gaza, where more than 1.5 million Palestinians have fled to escape bombing in the north.

FULL ACCOUNT AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67586033