US State Dept on Rafah: Israel must minimize civilian harm and Hamas must not hide behind citizens
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller reiterates that the Biden administration is “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life” that resulted from the IDF’s weekend strike in Rafah that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians sheltering in tents near a compound targeted by the army.
“The pain that those families are suffering through must be unimaginable, especially those who’ve lost children and those who have lost family members a repeated number of times,” Miller says.
“As we have said before, Israel has a right to go after the Hamas terrorists responsible for the cold-blooded murder of civilians — as appears to have been Israel’s aim here — and Hamas should stop hiding behind civilians in Gaza. But Israel also has the obligation to do everything possible to minimize civilian harm as it carries out its operations,” Miller says, largely reiterating the same statement issued by a White House National Security Council spokesperson yesterday.
The State Department spokesperson says the US has been in touch with Israeli authorities since the Sunday night strike and notes the IDF’s explanation for the incident, which is that it used one of the smallest bombs in its arsenal to carry out a targeted strike against senior Hamas commanders who were located 1.7 kilometers away from the safe zone, which set off a secondary explosion that sparked a blaze in the area.
The US says it will reserve further judgment on the matter until the IDF completes a full investigation on the matter.
“We will continue to emphasize to Israel their obligation to comply fully with international humanitarian law, minimize the impact of their operations on civilians and maximize the flow of humanitarian assistance to those in need,” Miller says.
Asked about another incident in Rafah today, which allegedly killed 21 civilians, Miller says the US is aware of the reports, as well as the IDF’s denial, and is seeking more information from Israel. He also says the US is looking into reports regarding IDF tanks rolling into the heart of Rafah.
Miller is pressed on whether the Sunday strike crosses Biden’s red line, which saw him threaten to withhold certain offensive weapons from Israel if it launches a major offensive in the heart of Rafah. The State Department spokesperson says the Israeli operations in Rafah have not yet crossed into what the US defines as a major offensive.
“The way that we saw [operations] take place in Khan Younis and Gaza City — at this point, we have not seen a military operation on the scale of those previous operations,” Miller says. “If you just look at the number of brigades that were in Gaza City and Khan Younis — so far this is a different type of military operation [in Rafah], but it’s something that we are watching very closely.”
“We continue to support their ability to go after legitimate Hamas terrorists terrorists and that of course includes using American-provided weapons, but we expect them to do so in a way that minimizes civilian harm.”