“They moved into southern Gaza on the ground in a way that was much smaller than they planned to do,” he told reporters. “We think that was an output of some of the advice and counsel we provided them about urban warfare.”
A reporter suggested that Kirby was giving the Israelis more of a benefit of the doubt than President Joe Biden, who on Tuesday, during a conversation with donors, characterized Israel’s bombing against Hamas in Gaza as “indiscriminate”.
"They have published online maps of places where people can go or not go. That's basically telegraphing your punches! There's very few modern militaries in the world that would do that! I don't know that we would do that!" replied Kirby.
Asked by CNN why the White House insists on saying Israel has the “intent” to minimize civilian casualties, Kirby replied, “Sometimes in war, your best plans, your best execution of those plans doesn't always go the way you want it to go – doesn't always go the way you expect it to go. We know that from bitter experience and our own military, no matter how precise and targeted we tried to be in Iraq and Afghanistan. There were times when we caused civilian casualties as well.”
He added that there was “a clear intent by the Israelis — an intent that they have admitted to publicly — that they are doing everything they can to reduce civilian casualties.”