IDF Responds to Growing US Criticism of Civilian Casualties in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has responded to growing criticism being expressed by senior U.S. officials regarding the number of civilian casualties suffered by Palestinians throughout Israel's ongoing war against the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

While President Joe Biden and his administration have repeatedly expressed their support for Israel's efforts to eliminate Hamas in the wake of the group's unprecedented October 7 surprise attack, top figures such as Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have suggested their ally was not doing enough to mitigate the harm being inflicted upon civilians.

Speaking Saturday on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in the United Arab Emirates, Harris stated "Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed" and, "We believe Israel has to do more to protect innocent civilians."

Austin, addressing the Reagan National Defense Forum in California that same day, warned that civilian casualties drive Palestinians "into the arms of the enemy" and would "replace tactical victory with a strategic defeat."

Responding to such comments, IDF Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus told Newsweek during a social media discussion Monday that Israeli forces "are taking active steps, serious efforts in order to address these concerns, which we can understand where they are coming from, and to find good, tangible, practical solutions for it."

"I don't think anything will be perfect," he added.

Conricus emphasized Israel's gratitude to the U.S. for its longstanding support, especially since the beginning of what's become the deadliest-ever flare-up of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and said officials from both sides remained in close discussion.

"We rely on American aid or assistance, military assistance for many of our operations," Conricus said. "And, of course, we listen when senior American elected officials provide us with advice and their point of view. We take that into consideration and there is intimate and continuous and very close coordination between U.S. and Israeli military officials."

At the same time, he said mitigating civilian casualties was particularly challenging in Gaza given what he alleged to be Hamas' practice of embedding itself among the civilian population and using civilians as shields.

"That is the number one reason civilians are getting killed, it's not our practice," Conricus said. "It's the fact that they're co-located and Hamas isn't deployed in the Al-Mawasi area or the agricultural areas surrounding Khan Younis or between northern and central Gaza, where there's open territory and olive orchards, etc."

"No, they have intentionally placed themselves under civilians," he added. "And since that's where the enemy is, that is where we will have to go in order to defeat the enemy."

Hamas officials have repeatedly rejected such claims and have accused Israeli forces of deliberately striking civilian sites.

"The relentless massacres perpetrated by the Zionist occupation forces throughout the Gaza Strip, coupled with their targeted bombing of medical facilities, notably witnessed in the recent attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, constitute a deliberate strategy aimed at facilitating the coerced displacement of our people from their land," Hamas said in a statement Monday.

The group has also held Biden and his administration directly accountable for Israel's actions in Gaza.

"This agenda could not have been executed without the explicit approval from the Biden administration," the Hamas statement added. "It is imperative to underscore that the transgressions committed by the Israeli occupation leaders and their Nazi army against our people will forever be a curse haunting them! Our steadfast and resolute people, devoted to safeguarding their land and national prerogatives, stand unwavering against any attempts at forced displacement."

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh also referenced the U.S. position during a press briefing on Monday. She said the U.S. was not imposing conditions on military assistance to Israel but has been vocal in its position that Israel must avoid civilian casualties.

Referencing Austin's remarks on Saturday, Singh told reporters that "we are constantly and continue to engage the Israelis on ensuring that they are protecting civilian lives, innocent civilians."

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller echoed Israeli allegations that Hamas had embedded itself in civilian populations and said U.S. officials "have not seen evidence" that the IDF was "intentionally killing civilians," though he too believed "far too many civilians have been killed."

"We want to see Israel take additional steps to minimize civilian harm," Miller said during a separate briefing Monday. "We talked to that about them when we were in Israel last week. They briefed us on their plans. And if you go through their plans about how they intend to minimize civilian harm, you have to step back and remember that the Israeli military is one of the most professional militaries in the world."

"They have legal determinations that they make when conducting strikes," he added. "They go through procedures where they weigh civilian harm when they conduct any of these strikes. They have put in place these plans I mentioned a moment ago to evacuate specific neighborhoods to keep civilians out harm's way rather than just telling an entire population to move."

Though Miller said Israeli forces "are going about this with a certain degree of deliberateness to try to minimize civilian harm," he asserted that, "it's not just the intent that matters; it's the results."

Israeli officials have estimated that around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed during Hamas' initial attack on Israel nearly two months ago. Officials in Hamas-led Gaza have counted more than 15,000 dead in the Palestinian territory since the beginning of the war, many of whom are women and children, though figures did not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.

Citing Israeli officials, Newsweek reported earlier on Monday that the IDF has estimated it killed 5,000 combatants and 10,000 civilians throughout the conflict.

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