US secretary of state Antony Blinken has told Israel’s leader he must establish better protection for civilians before resuming attacks on Gaza.
The ceasefire that began last week was extended for a third time on Thursday morning – for another day – but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains committed to destroying Hamas.
After more talks in Israel, Mr Blinken said there must be more effective measures to protect civilians and that it was capable of neutralising Hamas while also minimising harm.
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He said it meant acting in “compliance with international humanitarian law” with “a clear plan” to protect people, such as properly designating areas in southern Gaza where civilians will be safe.
America’s top diplomat said the prime minister and his war cabinet agreed and understood “the massive levels of civilian life and displacement scale we saw in the north not be repeated in the south”.
About two million people have fled to the south of the Gaza Strip and are stuck in deteriorating conditions.
Israel has been criticised over civilian deaths – which Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry estimates at more than 13,000.
However, there are fears it could be higher due to people buried under rubble and sporadic counting in recent weeks.
Israel insists it takes great care to avoid innocent deaths but that Hamas deliberately hides among Gaza’s densely packed population.
Attacks have left large parts of Gaza in ruins as Mr Netanyahu pursues his aim of wiping out the terror group that murdered more than 1,200 of its citizens on 7 October.
He emphasised on Wednesday that attacks would restart when the current truce ends.
“After this phase of returning our abductees is exhausted, will Israel return to fighting? So my answer is an unequivocal yes,” said the prime minister.
“There is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end.”
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It’s feared that further extensions to the ceasefire could be more difficult as Hamas is expected to set a higher price for many of the remaining hostages.
It’s currently set to expire at 7am Israeli time (5am UK time) on Friday.
More than 70 Israelis have been freed over the past week, including another eight on Thursday, but some 240 people were kidnapped in October’s attack.
Those released so far have been women, children or teenagers – but many men and soldiers remain in captivity.
Israel has released more than 200 Palestinian women and teenagers from its jails in exchange – and crucially, the deal has meant a break in attacks on Gaza and a chance to deliver more aid.
“This process is producing results. It’s important, and we hope that it can continue,” said Mr Blinken.
The truce held despite Palestinian gunmen killing at least three people waiting for buses in Jerusalem on Thursday morning.
The two attackers were killed and Hamas claimed responsibility, saying it was retaliation for deaths of women and children in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops in Jenin in the West Bank – not covered by the ceasefire – killed two boys in a raid, according to Palestinian officials.
Israel said the raid had killed two Islamic Jihad militants.
