White House fears increased isolation of Israel due to Gaza attacks

White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby expressed the US administration’s concern that Israel might become more isolated because of the way it is conducting its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

“This is of concern, clearly, because it’s not in Israel’s best interest, and it’s not in our best interest for Israel to become increasingly isolated on the world stage,” Kirby said during a White House press conference yesterday.

Kirby added that the loss of life in Gaza is “heartbreaking” and welcomed the announcement of a full investigation by the Israeli occupation army into an attack it carried out on displaced Palestinian civilians sleeping in tents in the Rafah ‘safe zone’.

“We understand that this strike did kill two senior Hamas heads who are directly responsible for attacks,” Kirby said. “We’ve also said many times, Israel must take every precaution possible to do more to protect innocent life.”

He stated that the Israeli attack did not cross a “red line”, but said Washington has not yet seen a plan to protect civilians in Rafah and does not believe there is justification for a major ground assault in the area.

The White House spokesperson also mentioned that the United States does not support imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) should it issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, nor does it believe that the ICC has jurisdiction in this matter.

“We don’t believe that sanctions against the ICC is the right approach here,” he said.

Kirby’s remarks come after Israel killed more than 45 Palestinians in a displacement camp in Rafah. Many were trapped in their tents as flames engulfed the area, leaving them to burn to death.

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