Since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip last month, the United States has strongly supported Tel Aviv, affirming its "right to defend itself." However, the rising number of civilian deaths among Palestinians in the densely populated enclave, which has exceeded 9,500, mostly children, prompted Washington to make a timid shift in its rhetoric.
During his visit to Israel on Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "reduce" the number of civilian casualties. The American visitor explained that he discussed "concrete steps" that could be taken to minimize human losses among civilians.
What are these steps? It seems that Washington proposed to Tel Aviv the use of smaller bombs when targeting Hamas sites or their leaders, as well as improving intelligence information, according to U.S. officials.
They also clarified that American officials suggested to the Israelis to enhance how they target Hamas leaders by gathering more intelligence on leadership networks before launching strikes. Additionally, they advised them to use Israeli ground forces to separate civilians from areas where Hamas militants are concentrated.
Officials familiar with the discussions emphasized that smaller bombs are more suitable for the densely urban areas of Gaza. A senior military official noted that the United States is now trying to send more smaller bombs to Israel, as reported by the "New York Times."
