US denies there has been “genocide” in Gaza, but calls on Israel to protect civilians

Washington, May 13 (EFE).- The United States government rejected this Monday that a “genocide” has taken place in the Gaza Strip, but asked Israel to “do more” to guarantee the safety of civilians in the Palestinian territory .

“We believe Israel can and must do more to ensure the safety and well-being of innocent civilians. “We do not believe that what is happening in Gaza is genocide,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a news conference.

Sullivan reiterated that the United States opposes a large-scale military operation on Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt and where about 1.4 million Gazans live, most of whom fled Israeli attacks on the rest of the territory. Are .

Sullivan stressed, “We believe it would be a mistake to launch a large-scale military operation in the middle of the region, which would put large numbers of civilians at risk.”

So far, the US executive has acknowledged that the Israeli operation in Rafah has a “limited scope” and is not the “large-scale offensive” it has been warning against for months.

According to estimates by the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA), about 360,000 people have fled Rafah since the first evacuation order issued by the Israeli military a week ago, when it initially restricted the easternmost neighborhoods on the city’s outskirts. There were about 100,000 people there who were told to evacuate.

However, over the weekend Israel expanded the displacement order to more areas of the center of Rafah and this Monday added two other neighborhoods located in the western half.

More than 35,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed and about 79,000 injured since the war began in Gaza on 7 October, including about 10,000 who are believed to be missing from destroyed buildings. Are trapped in the debris. Bombing.