US: Israel must protect civilians in Gaza Strip

Israel bears responsibility for the lives of innocent residents in Gaza, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

With the death toll reaching more than 8,000 in the Gaza Strip, the administration of US President Joe Biden is under pressure to make it clear that his support for Israel does not mean support for everything Israel is doing in the enclave.

Sullivan said Washington has asked Israel tough questions, including on issues related to humanitarian aid, the distinction between terrorists and innocent civilians and how Israel has planned its military operation.

"What we believe is that every hour, every day of this military operation, the Israel Defense Forces, the Government of Israel must use every means at their disposal to distinguish between Hamas terrorists, who are legitimate military targets, and civilians. , which are not legitimate targets," Sullivan told CNN.

Sullivan said the U.S. has made the issue clear and will reiterate the position during Biden's conversation later Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sullivan also said Netanyahu has a responsibility to "curb" extremist Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.

"It is completely unacceptable that we have extremist settler violence against innocent people in the West Bank," he said.

Attacks by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7, when more than 1,400 people were killed, have prompted Israel to launch a wave of air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Health authorities in the Gaza Strip - home to 2.3 million people - have said 8,005 Palestinians have been killed since the war began.

Sullivan said Hamas - which controls Gaza - is among the Palestinian population and in civilian infrastructure, making operations against the group very difficult.

"This creates an additional challenge for Israel, but it does not diminish Israel's responsibility under international law to distinguish between terrorists and civilians and to protect the lives of innocent people, who make up the majority of the population in Gaza," Sullivan said.

Israel has tightened the siege of Gaza and is continuously bombing this territory for three weeks. Gazans are running out of food and water supplies. The situation there has increased international anger and increased calls for "a humanitarian pause" in order to send aid to the residents of this territory./ REL