World News | US Tells Israel Any Ground Campaign in Southern Gaza Must Limit Further Civilian Displacement

Washington, Nov 29 (AP) 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 US 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.

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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 Defence 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.

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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 US 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.

Those released since Friday's truce started have been mainly women and children. Brokering swaps for Israeli forces are expected to be much more difficult for US and Arab negotiators, Cook said. Hamas in the past has demanded Israel release large numbers of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention in exchange for each Israeli soldier.

"The price may be too high for the Israelis," Cook said.

The Americans spotlighted their concerns about Palestinian civilians as the latest swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel got underway Tuesday. Israeli said Tuesday that 10 Israelis and two foreigners freed by Hamas in the evening exited Gaza to Egypt. Around 30 Palestinian prisoners were expected to be released.

Only one American, 4-year-old Abigail Edan, has been released by Hamas since the start of the truce on Friday. One senior administration official told reporters that the White House was "hopeful" that some of the nine Americans still believed to be in captivity in Gaza would be released in the coming days.

Biden and top officials have also been clear-eyed about Israel's desire to continue operations focused on Hamas that over the last seven weeks have largely focused on the north. They have said they support Israel's goal of eliminating Hamas' control over Gaza and the threat it poses to Israeli civilians, but have grown more vocal about the need to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians.

Hamas has been known to seek shelter among the territory's civilian population, and Israeli officials have released videos from northern Gaza of what they said are weapons stockpiles and firing locations placed among civilian infrastructure.

More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on October 7, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israel's ground offensive.

The US believes roughly 2 million Palestinians are now in south and central Gaza. Biden administration officials have made clear to the Israelis that an already stretched humanitarian support network would be unable to cope with the sort of displacement that those from northern Gaza have endured in Israel's retaliatory strikes and ground operations.

Biden administration officials have also told the Israelis they expect them to conduct operations in a way that will be "maximally deconflicted" with the operation of humanitarian aid facilities, United Nations-supported shelters and core infrastructure, including electricity and water. (AP)

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