US: IDF should not displace Gazans en masse in the south like it did in the north

Senior US officials said Monday that the Biden administration is opposed to a second mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, as Washington further specified the conditions under which it would continue to support the IDF expanding its ground incursion into the southern section of the Hamas-run enclave once the temporary ceasefire in the enclave expires in the coming days.

“You cannot have the scale of displacement that took place in the north replicated in the south,” said one of two senior administration officials briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.

The remarks came a day after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the Biden administration wanted Israel to “learn the lessons” of its ground incursion in northern Gaza and not begin operating in southern Gaza until it can ensure that Palestinian civilians are able to avoid the fighting.

The IDF operation came after Hamas and other Gaza terror groups massacred 1,200 people in Israel and took another 240 or so hostage into Gaza.

After a three-week aerial bombardment, Israel launched a phased ground incursion on October 27, which started in northern Gaza. READ MORE