(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) WASHINGTON, March 26 (KUNA) - US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has told the visiting the Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant the number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip is far too high, and the amount of humanitarian aid is far too low.
This statement was made by Secretary Austin during his reception of Gallant at the Pentagon on Tuesday.
"Gaza is suffering a humanitarian catastrophe, and the situation is getting even worse. And we need immediate increases in assistance to avert famine," Austin said according to a Pentagon transcript of the meeting.
"In Gaza today, the number of civilian casualties is far too high, and the amount of humanitarian aid is far too low."
He underlined that the US recent work to open a temporary humanitarian corridor by sea will help, "but the key is still expanding aid deliveries by land".
Austin stated that the US remains committed to supporting Israel's efforts to defeat Hamas, with the understanding that such efforts must prioritize keeping Palestinian civilians out of harm's way.
"The safety of the 1.5 million Palestinian civilians in Rafah is also a top priority for the United States. Now, we continue to share the goal of seeing Hamas defeated, so we'll discuss alternative approaches to target Hamas elements," the Pentagon chief said.
He pointed to the need for preparing a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip.
"That includes working in renewed cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and our regional partners to stabilize Gaza and to move toward a two-state solution," he said.
Regarding Rafah, a significant portion of the meeting focused on Israel's concept of operations in that city, with Austin expressing that the US's goal is to help Israel find an alternative to a full-scale military operation that could potentially endanger the city's civilian population, according to one senior defense official familiar with the meeting.
The US secretary made clear during the meeting that such an alternative would involve a "sequence and a phasing of activities" that would be needed to make civilian protection a priority, and that any military operation should not proceed unless a "credible and implementable plan" is already in place to ensure the safety and humanitarian support for civilians sheltering in the area.
When questioned as to how confident he is the US and Israel are going to be able to find a viable alternative to a use-of-force-only approach in Rafah, the official said both sides are confident such an alternative is possible.
"We believe that the concepts that we are sharing and the additional ideas we're developing based on those concepts have the potential to achieve the dual objectives of protecting the civilians who are currently in Rafah and defeating the Hamas battalions that are in Rafah," the official said. (end)
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