Experts say 'Israel' doing little to avoid civilians casualties
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Middle East experts believe that even if "Israel" does not abide by American expectations, they are unsure that Biden will break away from his support for the Israeli occupation.
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Palestinians evacuate wounded civilians in Israeli strikes near Rafah on December 1, 2023. (AP)
The Biden administration was attempting to utilize the recent truce in Gaza to shift the tenor of the battle. It was unclear whether their attempts were having any effect now that the Israeli aggression has resumed.
In a noticeable shift of tone, US officials have expressed that if "Israel's" continued onslaught were to cause massive civilian deaths, that would mean they are rejecting the position of their American allies.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently stated publicly that the US would support the bombing of south Gaza only if "Israel" actively tried to limit the death of civilians and avoided the displacement of the people in Gaza.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza reported that the Israeli airstrikes have persisted and intensified, most notably in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Strip, over the past 24 hours, particularly gaining intensity during the night.
A senior US official claimed that although Hamas targets do exist in Khan Younis, "Israel" has been cautioned to avoid hitting the area by air due to the civilian population.
The number of martyrs in the Gaza Strip, since Friday morning, has risen to at least 178 people, while 589 others have been injured, most of whom are women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Middle East experts believe that even if "Israel" does not abide by American expectations, they are unsure that Biden will break away from his support for the Israeli occupation.
Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, expressed that not only is the US change of tone "not substantive", but if the occupation were to pursue its indiscriminate bombing, then the US “really hasn’t had an effect.”
Former Israeli ambassador to Washington Itamar Rabinovich stated that Israeli leaders know that what occurred in the north cannot be repeated. However, he predicted that the occupation and the US would publicly disagree about what will happen after the war.
Netanyahu focused on staying in power
The Israelis are adamant about the Palestinians not having any state, and Biden has frequently advocated for a "two-state solution" with a "revitalized" Palestinian Authority in charge of Gaza and the West Bank.
"Netanyahu is very much focused on staying in power," Rabinovich expressed.
According to a senior administration source, Biden aides worked around the clock during the truce to help them develop a more targeted military strategy. Officials from the US emphasized that "Israel", which has blocked off northern Gaza and has not permitted inhabitants to return, could not also seal off southern Gaza and launch another murderous aerial strike on the 2 million civilians who live there.
Israeli officials have claimed they are taking the advice of their American counterparts, but several analysts said they saw no evidence that the fresh Israeli bombing strikes were being carried out with the delicacy required to prevent civilian fatalities at all.
Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former official in the Clinton administration, expressed that the change of tone in the US comes from the increased pressure on Biden to call for a ceasefire.
Riedel emphasized that Biden, who is now in a "very unpleasant place," has "belatedly realized" that the war on Gaza was harmful to US interests, particularly the death of thousands of Palestinian civilians, which "damages America’s reputation throughout the Middle East, the Islamic world and beyond."
This is in addition to an American official relaying to Sputnik on Friday that the US believes it is facing pressure alongside "Israel" through Iran via what it calls "proxy forces" in the Middle East.
Even some "Israel" supporters in Congress are taking previously unthinkable views. A group of Senate Democrats has considered putting restrictions on the aid that the US gives to "Israel", such as compelling it to follow international law.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) expressed that "the level of civilian harm inside Gaza is unacceptable, unsustainable."
One of US' largest unions calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire
One of the largest labor unions in the United States, representing workers in the automobile, aircraft, agricultural tools, and other industries, has called for a complete ceasefire in Gaza following the end of a temporary truce and the resumption of the Israeli aggression on the devastated Strip.
The United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) comprises over 400,000 active workers and more than 580,000 retirees in these sectors across the US.
The announcement was made by the Union's President Brandon Mancilla during a conference held at a rally outside the White House on Friday. The demonstrators, who went on a hunger strike in support of Gaza, carried banners reading: "Biden, you are starving Gaza."
On Friday morning, the temporary truce expired, which was directly followed by a renewal of Israeli strikes across Gaza. In one day only, Israeli bombing killed more than 190 civilians, a significant number being children.
