US says Israel 'must' limit civilian casualties as it carries out West Bank offensive

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The White House said Wednesday that Israel "must" ensure that civilian casualties are limited, and that damage to civilian infrastructure is restricted as it carries out the most sweeping military offensive on the occupied West Bank in two decades.

The operation has included raids, airstrikes and the destruction of Palestinian roads and buildings in Jenin, and the refugee camps of Tulkarem and Tubas in the north of the occupied West Bank. At least 10 Palestinians have been killed so far after the offensive began overnight Tuesday.

"We are in touch with Israeli officials to learn more about the operation. The United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself against threats to its security," a National Security Council spokesperson told Anadolu on condition of anonymity.

"At the same time, they must do so in a way that limits civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure," the spokesperson added.

The occupied West Bank has seen increasingly frequent, and oftentimes fatal, raids by the Israeli military amid its ongoing war in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The new deaths that have so far resulted from the operation, bring the toll in the West Bank to at least 662 Palestinians since Oct. 7, according to official figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry. Nearly 5,400 others have been injured by Israeli military fire.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for the "temporary evacuation" of Palestinian civilians as well as "whatever steps are required" to carry out the operation.

"This is a war for everything and we must win it," he said on X.

Subsequently, a Palestinian activist told Anadolu that residents of the Nour Shams refugee camp were given four hours to evacuate on Wednesday. Suleiman al-Zuheiri said the Israeli army erected several military checkpoints at the entry points to the refugee camp, allowing residents to leave the area from a specific exit point.

Al-Zuheiri said Israeli military bulldozers were destroying infrastructure within the Tulkarem and Nour Shams camps, backed by drones flying overhead.

Ahmed al-Deek, an assistant to the Palestinian foreign minister, told Anadolu that “Israel is replicating its Gaza eviction tactics in the West Bank, creating an environment that forces residents to leave.”

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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