Blinken tells Israeli ministers to do more to cut 'unacceptably high' civilian deaths in Gaza

July 16 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated warnings that the civilian death toll in Gaza remained "unacceptably high" in a meeting with senior Israeli government officials following Israeli Defense Forces airstrikes over the weekend.

Blinken made the comments Monday in a meeting with Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Washington at which he told the officials Israel must do more to reduce the numbers of civilians being killed and injured, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told a press briefing on Monday.

The United States' top diplomat told Hanegbi and Dermer of the administration's "serious concern" about recent civilian casualties, including at a United Nations-run school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in Saturday's airstrike which Israel said targeted senior Hamas commander Mohammed Deif.

"As I've noted before, we have seen civilian casualties come down from the high points of the conflict and even from where they were say six weeks, two months ago; but they still remain unacceptably high," Miller said.

The comments came after an IDF airstrike in al-Mawasi on Saturday that killed 71 people and injured 300

"We continue to see far too many civilians killed in this conflict. We want to see civilian casualties completely ended," said Miller who stressed that even in advance of the hoped-for cease-fire the administration was pushing so hard for "we want to see Israel do more to reduce civilian casualties."

However, Miller qualified his criticism by pointing out that Israel had said it was targeting militants holed up within the site stuck Saturday and that it had "the right to target militants," but stressed "there is nothing that justifies attacks on civilians."

The Saturday attack was targeting Mohammad Deif, the leader of the Hamas military's Qassam Brigades who is accused of planning the Oct. 7 attcks on Israel.

"We don't want to see any civilian deaths," he said. "So as always, this is the difficult thing in this conflict, when you see militants who continue to hide in schools, in mosques, in hospitals, in other facilities. It makes the challenge that Israel faces incredibly difficult."

Miller said Hanegbi and Dermer had not provided any update on whether the airstrike succeeded in killing Deif.

Blinken reassured the pair the United States' commitment to Israel's security remained "ironclad" but that it must take "further steps to reduce civilian casualties " and do more to resolve "logistical issues that are preventing humanitarian assistance from being fully delivered across the Gaza Strip."

They also discussed planning, including how to establish governance and security in Gaza post-conflict, and practical solutions to outstanding issues in ongoing cease-fire negotiations in which Blinken stressed the importance of reaching an agreement that secures both the release of hostages and alleviates the suffering of Palestinians.