In meetings in Israel, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin conveyed to Israeli leaders that it’s important to observe international rules of warfare.
As Israel girds for a fearsome ground assault into Gaza, senior Biden administration officials are warning their Israeli counterparts to show restraint and avoid mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian disaster that could turn world opinion against the Jewish state, according to two current and one former U.S. official.
Nope. It needs to be said loudly, publicly, repeatedly. Until then, we are enablers of atrocities.
Biden said it publicly, too:
We uphold the laws of war — the law of war. It matters. There’s a difference.
And repeated something similar today, when asked about retaliation against Hamas:
Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people … there needs to be a Palestinian Authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state … It would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.
