Video shows huge food lines in Gaza as US issues strongest criticism of Israel yet

As Gaza’s food lines grown and the hungry become more desperate, the US has issued its strongest criticism of Israel yet.

New video shows civilians in Gaza standing in massive lines for food and some of them jumping over fences to reach humanitarian aid.

UN Secretary General António Guterres said that the UN cannot run a dependable humanitarian operation anymore and that an immediate ceasefire is the only solution.

The Biden administration has so far promised unwavering support for Israel, but has now criticized the military campaign for its civilian death toll.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday the US is concerned for the protection of civilians in the enclave, where more than 16,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to local health authorities.

READ MORE: Moment Hamas troops carrying RPGs wiped out by Israel in Gaza street battle

Blinken said to reporters in Washington on Thursday: “We are focused…on the imperative of maximizing efforts to protect civilians, and get not only assistance in but to sustain the higher level of assistance that was reached during the humanitarian pause and actually build on it.

“And what we’ve seen over the initial days is some important additional steps in the direction of doing just that.

“Having said that, as we stand here almost a week into this campaign in the south after the end of the humanitarian pause…it remains imperative that Israel put a premium on civilian protection.

“And there does remain a gap between exactly what I said when I was there, the intent to protect civilians, and the actual results that we’re seeing on the ground.”

The IDF has expanded its ground operations into southern Gaza this month, where the UN has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe for more than 1.9 million people.

Israel receives $3.3 billion in US foreign military funding annually - making up about 16 percent of the Israeli defense budget.

Israel has said it is taking necessary precautions to avoid civilian deaths, and that Hamas is using civilians as “human shields.”

Blinken said that “making sure…areas that are clearly out of the conflict zone, that they remain so that military means not be used in those areas” is “something that we’re talking about with the Israelis on a regular basis.”

Other Biden administration officials - including Vice President Kamala Harris - have said in recent weeks that “too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on December 3: “I have personally pushed Israeli leaders to avoid civilian casualties, and to shun irresponsible rhetoric, and to prevent violence by settlers in the West Bank.”

The UN Security Council is set to vote on Friday on an immediate ceasefire after Guterres moved to invoke the UN Charter’s Article 99, which states that a secretary general may call on council to vote on “any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”

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