Jakarta –
US Vice President (Wapres). Kamala Harris said too many innocent Palestinians were killed in Gaza when Israeli warplanes and artillery bombarded the territory on Saturday. The Israeli attack followed the failure of a ceasefire with Hamas.
Reported by Reuters, Sunday (3/12/2023), residents were worried that the attack signaled an Israeli ground operation in the southern Palestinian territory that would shrink their territory. Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 193 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire ended on Friday.
Harris, speaking in Dubai, said that Israel has the right to defend itself, but international and humanitarian law must be respected.
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“Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” Harris said.
“Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering, and the images and videos coming from Gaza, are devastating,” Harris continued to reporters.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also considered Israel’s need to protect Gaza civilians a ‘moral responsibility’.
“The center of gravity is the civilian population,” he said. “And if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace tactical victory with strategic defeat,” he continued.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel continues to work with the US and international organizations to determine ‘safe areas’ for Gaza civilians.
“This is important because we have no desire to harm society. We have a very strong desire to harm Hamas,” Netanyahu said at a news conference in Tel Aviv.
Harris also outlined the US vision for post-conflict Gaza, saying the international community must support recovery and Palestinian security forces must be strengthened.
“We want to see the unity of Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian voices and aspirations must be at the center of this effort,” he said, adding that Hamas should no longer control Gaza.
(yld/idn)
2023-12-03 06:02:36
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