Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was blunt both publicly and privately that as Israelis plan their military operations, including any ground assault into Gaza, they must take into account the safety of civilians.
By Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp, Associated PressPalestinians inspect the damage of a destroyed house that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
“In our conversations with the Israelis, and as we’ve made very clear, we’re continuing to highlight, the importance of mitigating civilian casualties and ensuring that ... things like safety corridors are thought through,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said Tuesday. “These officials include Gen. Glenn, have experience when it comes to urban combat,” Ryder told reporters on Tuesday. “They’re in there temporarily with their military expertise to just go through and discuss some of the hard questions that the IDF should consider as they plan various scenarios.”
“There are some lessons learned that we will be more than happy to share with our allies here in terms of operating effectively in dense urban terrain, creating safe humanitarian corridors, making sure that we’re thoughtful about how we shape the battle and making sure that our objectives are well defined,” Austin told reporters.
“How you orchestrate this campaign really matters,” said Votel. “And they have to do this in a way that reflects values and the concern for innocent Palestinians who themselves are being held hostage by Hamas.” Militarily, he said, Israel is seeing a more sophisticated and better armed opponent than the Islamic State was in Syria and Iraq.
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