Pentagon chief: Israel will 'increase number of insurgents' if Gazans not safeguarded

Austin says Israel should be more precise in attacks on Hamas, calls for it to bring in more humanitarian aid to Strip while acknowledging the ‘very difficult battle space’

ROME — US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that failure by Israel to safeguard civilians in Gaza could create a generational backlash and create more anti-Israel insurgents in the future.

Speaking to reporters in Rome, Austin said he raises the need to address the humanitarian needs of civilians in every call he has with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant.

In each call, Austin said he cites the need for Israel to be more precise during military operations against the Hamas terror group to limit civilian casualties and cites the need to get humanitarian assistance to the civilian population.

“Failure to do that will create a generation of Palestinians that really will continue to resist cooperating with Israel in the future. So you’re actually increasing the numbers of insurgents … if you fail to do that,” Austin said.

“It’s a strategic imperative in my view.”

War erupted when Hamas-led terrorists rampaged through southern communities on October 7, 2023, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages to Gaza.

File: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left, listen to the playing of the Israeli National Anthem during an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, June 25, 2024. (AP/Susan Walsh)

There are thought to be 101 hostages still held in Gaza, 97 of whom were kidnapped on October 7, in addition to two civilians and the bodies of two soldiers held there for nearly a decade. Dozens of those hostages are known to no longer be alive.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 42,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 358.

Israel has intensified an assault on the northern edge of Gaza since killing Hamas’ leader Yahya Sinwar last week. The IDF has ordered the evacuation of Jabaliya and surrounding towns in the area, where several hundred thousand Palestinians are believed to still reside. The IDF has been operating to prevent Hamas from regrouping in northern Gaza.

Aside from mass destruction in the Strip, Gazans face severe shortages of food, water, fuel, medicine, and proper medical care.

The United States is Israel’s closest ally, and it has supported Israel’s effort to go after Hamas, which is backed by Iran.

People crowd outside a bakery as they queue for bread in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 23, 2024. (BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

But a confidential letter from Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israeli officials last week demanded concrete measures to address the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid.

Austin has declined to publicly discuss the letter.

“The ability to accomplish your goals militarily in terms of achieving the objectives and protecting civilians in the battle space … you can do both of those things. They’re not mutually exclusive,” Austin said.

Amid the US pressure, COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of aid distribution in the Palestinian territories said Tuesday that more than 230 aid trucks entered the northern Gaza Strip over the past nine days.

Israel says it has placed no restrictions on aid reaching Gaza and blames the United Nations and other international groups for failing to distribute the aid that comes into the enclave. It also says Hamas loots aid convoys, a charge the group denies.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

Austin acknowledged Hamas’ tactics of using civilians as human shields.

“Let’s not kid ourselves, this is a complicated, very, very difficult battle space,” Austin said.

“And so … the Israelis need to do everything they can to be as careful as possible to protect civilians in the battle space.”