Israel Prioritizes Civilian Safety in Southern Gaza Campaign Despite Hamas Efforts

Even as it has expanded its military campaign to eliminate Hamas into the southern Gaza Strip, Israel has taken numerous, unparalleled measures aimed at reducing harm to civilians, including designating humanitarian safe zones, regularly updating a map on social media giving advance notice of those neighborhoods in which it will and will not strike, continuing to operate humanitarian corridors to evacuate Palestinian civilians to safety, and facilitating increased shipments of humanitarian aid by opening additional border crossings. Hamas, meanwhile, continues to exploit these Israeli precautions to launch attacks, steal humanitarian assistance, and attempt to delegitimize Israel.

Despite Israeli efforts to protect civilians, it faces increasing criticism of its conduct. The United States and likeminded partners and allies should ensure that Israel’s operations are fairly characterized in diplomatic discussions and public remarks and that Israel is not subjected to an arbitrary ‘political clock’ after which international support for its operations will evaporate, hindering Israel’s objective of defeating Hamas.

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