White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday it’s “absolutely critical” that Israel “embrace the rule of law and the laws of war” as it prepares for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip and urges residents to flee the area.
Israel has held the area in a “total siege” after Hamas conducted terrorist attacks, blocking food, water, electricity and the exit of Palestinians. The United Nations has warned that Israel’s siege and bombardment of the densely populated enclave in response to unprovoked terrorist attacks from Gaza’s governing body known as Hamas could amount to war crimes.
“I’m not going to react to or comment on every report that we see. There’s a lot of fog of war,” Mr. Sullivan said on CBS “Face the Nation.” “What we will say is the protection of civilians and the protection of those people who are trying to get to safety, as well as their ability to access food, water, medicine, shelter, these things should be respected and should very much be a central focus of everyone involved in this, including ourselves, the Israelis, the United Nations and the regional countries.”
He added that the U.S. is working with Israel, the U.N., Egypt, Jordan and other countries “to do all that we can to ensure the protection of civilians and that those civilians have access to the basic necessities of food and water, of shelter, of medicine.”
It’s estimated that hundreds of American citizens are trapped in Gaza as U.S. officials frantically try to find them safe passage from the region as Israel conducts its assault on Hamas.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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