“The scale of displacement that happened in the North must not happen again in the South,” a US official told reporters on Monday.
“It is very important that the Israeli (military) campaign, as it moves south, is carried out in a way that, as much as possible, does not provoke further displacement of people,” the senior official stressed, adding that the president and his aides “made this point very clear to the Israeli government.”
Israel, which has announced it will continue its war against Hamas after the current ceasefire, has accepted the warnings, the source said.
According to US officials, the Israeli attack “must be as targeted as possible” and the U.N. Avoid attacking shelters, hospitals and power generation and water supply sites.
Israel-Hamas War: Ceasefire Violates Ceasefire in Gaza
In Israel, 1,200 people were killed in what officials say was an attack by Hamas commandos on October 7, unprecedented in the country’s history.
In response, Israel vowed to “destroy” Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, with relentless bombardment of Palestinian territory and a ground offensive on October 27.
In the Gaza Strip, the Hamas government reported that 14,854 people, including 6,150 under the age of 18, were killed by Israeli strikes.
Three US military planes carrying aid to Gaza are set to arrive in Egypt on Tuesday, and Washington has said it is determined to provide as much aid as possible during the ceasefire, which is now in its fifth day.
However, U.S. officials said they expect Israel to continue its mission to “destroy” Hamas after the cease-fire ends.
Israel and US intelligence services arrived in Doha to discuss the “next phase” of a deal between Israel and Gaza and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will make his third trip to the Middle East this week since the war began.
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