Israel pounded the length of the Gaza Strip on Thursday even after US officials warned about rising civilian casualties, with the IDF warning America that the war against Hamas will carry on into 2024.
“It will require a long period of time – it will last more than several months – but we will win and we will destroy them,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
With the war spanning more than two months and resulting in the death of more than 19,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the Jewish State has seen backlash over the continued airstrike operations across the entire territory.
“I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives. Not stop going after Hamas, but be more careful,” President Biden told reporters Thursday.
Biden, who defended America’s support of the IDF and rejection of a UN-led truce agreement, had previously described Israel’s bombardments as “indiscriminate,” which US officials have been quick to try and walk back.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby went as far as to tell reporters Wednesday that Israel’s airstrike campaign was more thorough than anything the US would have done in its place in terms of avoiding civilian casualties.
Kirby touted the IDF for publishing alerts and maps on when and where airstrikes would occur in order for civilians to flee, tactics that have been criticized as moot given the major blackouts in the areas.
“That’s basically telegraphing your punches,” Kirby said. “There are very few modern militaries in the world that would do that. I don’t know that we would do that.”
Despite Kirby’s praise, a US assessment of Israel’s estimated 29,000 aerial strikes showed that nearly half of the IDF’s attacks have been unguided “dumb bombs,” which pose threats to the people living in the densely populated Gaza Strip, CNN reports.
Throughout the war, reports came out about airstrikes hitting hospitals, refugee shelters and other civilian buildings, with Israel defending the attacks as necessary to take out hidden Hamas bases.
Several of the hostages who were released in the seven-day cease-fire deal also chastised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for airstrikes that hit near the locations they were being held in.
Despite the criticisms over the bombings and their aim, Israeli officials stand behind the tactic and condemned the report analyzing the air-to-ground blasts in Gaza since the war began.
“There is no such thing as ‘dumb bombs’,” Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter told Army Radio. “Some bombs are more accurate, some bombs are less accurate. What we have is mostly pilots who are precise.”
Despite Dichter’s assurance, Sullivan met with Netanyahu on Thursday to discuss the need to make the airstrikes more accurate, Kirby told reporters.
The meeting between US and Israeli officials comes as the IDF continues to fire away dual operations in north and south Gaza, where soldiers are closing in on Hamas headquarters located in civilian hubs.
Despite evacuation orders, hundreds of people have been reported dead this week, with Israel previously estimated that of the total casualties, about 7,000 are Hamas members.
Nesmah al-Byouk, a resident of Khan Younis where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled after bombardments devastated the north, cursed Israel after airstrikes destroyed her community.
“May God take revenge on them,” she said. “We came and saw everything destroyed, the house, the factory, our neighbors and house are all gone. Where can we go to now?”
With Post wires