US defends using Gaza death toll to pressure Hamas on cease-fire deal

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Biden administration defended Wednesday using the death toll from Israel's ongoing war on the besieged Gaza Strip to publicly pressure Hamas into accepting a cease-fire deal.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller set off a heated exchange with a reporter when he said during a news conference that Hamas' leadership should take into consideration that the civilian death toll will only increase if the war resumes, as it prepares an official response to the proposal.

"It may be that Sinwar, sitting in a tunnel, believes he's safe and so makes that decision because he thinks my personal safety is assured, and I don't care about the Palestinian people who continue to die in conflict and who continue to struggle from a lack of humanitarian assistance because of all the barriers and impediments to getting it in, and getting it properly distributed," said Miller, referring to Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas' armed wing.

"All we can do is put a deal on the table that is in the interests of the Palestinian people, hope that enough countries in the world made clear that Hamas ought to take this deal, but ultimately the responsibility for that lies with Hamas, and the responsibility for the consequences if they don't accept this proposal," he said.

The comments were strongly pushed back upon by a reporter who emphasized the US position that no additional civilians should die as a result of Israel's war.

"You say that Hamas and Sinwar should bear in mind that what should draw them to a cease-fire is the Palestinian people are being killed, but your position is that no civilians, no Palestinian civilian, should be killed. So why do you raise that point?" the reporter asked.

"It is acknowledging the obvious reality, the harsh reality of this conflict. It is not at all an endorsement of of the tragic consequences," said Miller. "We've seen tremendous death and destruction over the past eight months. We want to avoid that going forward and the way to do that is to get a cease-fire."

The Biden administration has said it is "awaiting" Hamas' official response after it was presented with the Israeli proposal late Thursday.

Israel has continued its sweeping offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack that killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 36,580 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 83,000 others have been injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast swathes of Gaza now lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine as the coastal enclave grapples with what the UN calls a "full-blown famine."

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians were again displaced as they fled the southern Gaza city under Israeli evacuation orders.