Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the U.S. believes a higher number of civilians in Gaza have been killed compared to terrorists.
CBS’s Margaret Brennan questioned Blinken on “Face the Nation” about whether the U.S. agrees with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent statement that Israel has killed 14,000 terrorists and 16,000 civilians in its conflict with the militant group Hamas.
“Yes, we do. And I think the report shows that while Israel has procedures to try to minimize harm to civilians, these have not been consistently applied given the impact of the war in Gaza on the civilian population,” Blinken stated in the interview.
Blinken’s interview comes days after Biden said he’ll stop sending offensive weapons to Israel if it invades Rafah — where more than a million civilians are estimated to be sheltering from the war. World leaders and humanitarian aid groups have expressed concern about Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, warning that it is putting civilians in danger.
Blinken also discussed a recent review from the State Department regarding Israel’s conduct in the war, which raised “serious concerns” about its actions in Gaza.
“Our assessment will continue. But as I said, given what we’ve seen in terms of civilian suffering, it’s reasonable to conclude that in many cases, Israel has not acted in accordance with international humanitarian law,” he said.
The war in Gaza has resulted in over 34,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatant and militant deaths. The war began shortly after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, resulting in about 1,200 Israelis killed and more than 200 hostages taken.
