'They Do Attempt To Minimize Civilian Casualties': State Dept On Israel's Conduct In Gaza

The United States said on Monday that it believes Israelis "do attempt to minimize civilian casualties," in Gaza, as the State Department put it, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"They’ve talked about that publicly.  We think there are additional steps that they can take," Spokesperson Matthew Miller told TURAN's correspondent during a daily briefing.

According to him, Secretary Bliken communicated those steps 'very clearly' when he was in Israel, "and we’ve had continued ongoing conversations with them about that."

Miller's comments came as the fighting around medical facilities raises major concerns about the laws of war. Hospitals are off-limits during the war, though special protection can be lost if the sites are used for harmful acts in a conflict.

When asked by TURAN if there was any active discussion over creating field hospitals and potentially U.S. involvement in it, Miller said, "not U.S. involvement inside Gaza, but yes, there have been conversations with our allies and partners about setting up additional field hospitals."

He went on to elaborate, "there’s been conversations about setting up additional facilities where people either in southern Gaza, or people who have moved to southern Gaza from the north, can seek medical care. ...There are wounded Palestinians from northern Gaza who have been evacuated and left through Rafah gate to seek medical care.  So yes, that is something we continue to work on."