US sets up channel with Israel to discuss reports of civilian casualties in Gaza
American official says channel was established after Blinken told Israeli leaders during recent visit that US needs to know ‘what the answers are’ when strikes reported
WASHINGTON — The United States has created a channel with Israel to discuss concerns over incidents in Gaza in which civilians have been killed or injured by the Israeli military and civilian facilities have been targeted, two US officials with knowledge told Reuters.
The channel was set up after a meeting earlier this month between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israel’s war cabinet during which Blinken expressed concern about the “constant” reports of Israeli strikes that either hit humanitarian sites or resulted in large numbers of civilian deaths.
In the meeting, Blinken told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz that Washington needed to know “what the answers are” when it comes to reports of strikes, and sought a “reliable channel” through which the United States can raise such issues with the Israelis regularly, one of the US officials said.
The existence of this initiative has not been previously reported and the US officials requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive details around it.
The channel comes as a response to the mounting pressure on the Biden administration over the Palestinian death toll in Israel’s campaign against Hamas, which was launched in response to the Gaza-ruling terror group’s devastating onslaught on October 7, in which some 1,200 people were killed — mostly civilians — and 253 taken hostage. Following the attack, Israel declared war on Hamas, launching an offensive aimed at removing it from power and returning the hostages.
According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, over 25,000 Palestinians in the Strip have been killed since October 7. The unverified figure does not differentiate between fighters and non-combatants and is also believed to include civilians killed by errant rockets launched by terror organizations in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces says it has killed close to 10,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
The channel also underscores Washington’s frustration with Israel over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, with the US calling for the amount of aid entering the enclave to be ramped up to alleviate the plight of the civilian population.
Through the channel, which has been active for the last few weeks, Washington raises with the Israelis “every specific incident of concern” related to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, another US official said. The Israelis investigate and provide feedback to the Americans.
In some instances, the Israelis have conveyed additional information that sheds light on an incident while in others, they admitted they “made a mistake,” the officials said, without specifying which ones.
The United States set up the process to drive accountability for Israel, one of the officials said. It was not clear what action, if any, Washington would take against Israel as a result of what it learns.
Asked about the channel, a State Department spokesperson declined to address it directly but said Washington was making clear that Israel must protect humanitarian infrastructure and take every possible precaution to minimize civilian casualties.
“When we see reports of incidents that raise concerns, we raise those incidents directly with the government of Israel and seek additional information,” the spokesperson said.
The channel works through diplomats in the US Embassy in Jerusalem, the State Department’s regional bureau focusing on the Middle East, and US President Joe Biden’s special envoy for the region’s humanitarian issues, David Satterfield, the officials said.
Most recently, the United States used the channel to seek details on what the United Nations said on Wednesday was an attack by Israeli tanks on one of its compounds in Gaza sheltering displaced Palestinians. It was not clear how Israel responded, officials said.
The Biden administration has so far refused to criticize Israel directly over the civilian Palestinian death toll, even though senior Biden aides have said “far too many” Palestinians have been killed in the conflict.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Wednesday that any civilian death was “heart-breaking” but it was not an American operation and it was up to the Israeli army to investigate “credible allegations of law or of war violations when they arise.”
