Washington has noted some aspects of Israel’s operations in southern Gaza that distinguish them from similar operations in the north of the enclave, Miller said during a news conference. He added that Israel’s targeted evacuations compared to orders to leave the city were a clear improvement.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israeli military operations in southern Gaza should not repeat what happened in the north.
“We mean we don’t want to see the same level of civilian casualties, we don’t want to see the same level of mass displacement of people,” Miller said.
The State Department spokesman also clarified that Washington had seen no evidence that Israel was intentionally killing civilians, but added that the US government still expects there to be civilian casualties. According to Miller, “this, unfortunately, is typical of all wars.”
Commenting on the situation in the occupied West Bank, Miller said that measures taken by Israeli authorities to combat attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians are insufficient.
When asked by a reporter about Palestinians with US citizenship who remain in the Gaza Strip, Miller cited the following statistics: “More than 1,000 US citizens, permanent residents and members of their families have left Gaza. About 750 people remained. Among them are 220 American citizens. The rest are family members or permanent legal residents in Gaza.”
