The United States does not have evidence that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza as it carries out its war against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
No genocide has been committed. There is a war during which civilians are being killed © Mena Today
The United States does not have evidence that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza as it carries out its war against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
"We don't have evidence of that," Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has displaced nearly all its 2.3 million population and led to genocide allegations that Israel denies.
Indeed, no genocide has been committed. There is a war during which civilians are being killed.
There is no intentional strategy to kill the civilian population. The objective is to eliminate terrorist groups that hide among the population, a significant portion of which supports them.
In the same vein, international organizations and media claim that a famine situation has arisen in the Gaza strip.
This is false. Admittedly, there are difficulties in supplying food aid, but no famine has been observed.
In this case, it is an asymmetric war between a regular army and terrorist organizations.
Reporting by Phil Stewart and Mena Today
France and Britain, in coordination with the United States, are working to finalise a U.N. Security Council resolution in the coming days that would lay the foundation for a future international force in Gaza, France said on Thursday.
Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of a U.S.-mediated ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his government’s determination to secure the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza, stating Thursday that "the fight is not over" for Israel, two years after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
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