By Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that protecting Palestinian civilians in the war between Israel and Hamas is a moral and strategic imperative and that the humanitarian catastrophe in besieged Gaza is worsening.
Austin was speaking at the start of a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon as relations between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sunk to historic war lows.
“In Gaza today, the number of civilian casualties is too high and the amount of humanitarian aid is too low,” Austin said.
“Gaza is suffering a humanitarian catastrophe and the situation is getting even worse,” Austin said, using stronger language about the crisis than before.
He added that he and Gallant would discuss how to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Their meeting comes after Netanyahu on Monday canceled a separate visit to Washington by two of his senior aides who were supposed to hear US ideas on operational alternatives.
Netanyahu’s fraught relations with Biden broke down over Washington’s decision not to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The United States has worked to convince Netanyahu to consider alternatives to a ground invasion of Rafah, the last relatively safe haven for Palestinian civilians.
Austin said he would discuss alternative approaches to targeting Hamas militants in Rafah.
The threat of such an offensive has widened differences between close allies the United States and Israel, and raised questions about whether the United States will limit military aid if Netanyahu defies Biden and goes ahead anyway.
Austin said the security bond between Israel and the United States is “unshakeable.”
“The United States is Israel’s closest friend and that will not change,” he added.