The United States has created a channel with Israel to discuss concerns over incidents in Gaza in which civilians have been killed or injured by the IDF and civilian facilities have been targeted, two US officials told Reuters on Thursday.
According to the report, the channel was set up after a meeting earlier this month between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israel's War Cabinet, during which Blinken expressed concern about the "constant" reports of Israeli strikes that either hit humanitarian sites or resulted in large numbers of civilian deaths.
In the meeting, Blinken told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz that Washington needed to know "what the answers are" when it comes to reports of strikes, and sought a "reliable channel" through which the United States can raise such issues with the Israelis regularly, one of the US officials said.
The existence of this initiative has not been previously reported.
Through the channel, which has been active for the last few weeks, Washington raises with the Israelis "every specific incident of concern" related to Israel's military campaign in Gaza, another US official said. The Israelis investigate and provide feedback to the Americans.
In some instances, the Israelis have conveyed additional information that sheds light on an incident while in others, they admitted they "made a mistake," the officials said, without specifying which ones.
Asked about the channel, a State Department spokesperson declined to address it directly but said Washington was making clear that Israel must protect humanitarian infrastructure and take every possible precaution to minimize civilian casualties.
According to Reuters, the United States used the channel most recently to seek details on Wednesday’s strike on an UNRWA compound in Gaza which was blamed on Israel.
It was not clear how Israel responded, officials said. The IDF said on Wednesday it ruled out that an Israeli aerial or artillery strike hit the UNRWA facility.
“After an examination of our operational systems, the IDF has currently ruled out that this incident is a result of an aerial or artillery strike by the IDF,” the IDF said in a statement.
It added that a “thorough review of the operations of the forces in the vicinity is underway” and that it is "examining the possibility that the strike was a result of Hamas fire.”