The worst-case scenario has come true after the pause in the war between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli army is already launching intense attacks in the southern Gaza Strip. The White House had expressed its fears and asked for action due to the possible high number of victims and displaced people. But this weekend that call was reinforced in a resounding way in view of the military campaign.

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III urged the protection of civilians. Otherwise, this situation is unsustainable, difficult to justify in front of a good part of the society of the United States.

“Too many innocent Palestinians are being killed,” Harris said at the press conference before leaving Dubai, where he attended the climate summit. “As long as Israel defends itself, it is important how it does so,” he stressed. The head of the Pentagon expressed himself in the same vein, sending a severe public warning to the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The Government of Israel faces risks of strategic defeat if it does not give more protection to civilians,” Austin said at a forum held in Simi Valley, California, after the seven-day pause to exchange hostages and prisoners.

He was referring to Israel’s operations. “The center of gravity is the civilian population, and if you take it into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat,” he said.

He also noted that he himself had advised Israeli leaders to avoid the killing of civilians, in anticipation of violence in West Bank settlements. “We will continue to press Israel for the protection of civilians and to ensure a strong flow of humanitarian aid,” he said.

His reflection took place at a time when more and more critical voices are being heard about the carte blanche that the Administration of President Joe Biden gave to Israel during the first stage of operations. In Washington there is a lot of concern about the new military campaign in Gaza, because if what has happened in the north is repeated in the south, the humanitarian consequences would be unsustainable, in addition to causing great social wear and tear.

Biden, who refuses to call for a ceasefire, has seen a good part of the Democratic Party, led by former President Barack Obama, oppose it. Letters of complaint are written among his own staff, and even to the CIA.

And Muslim American leaders in several swing states gathered in Michigan to voice their grievances and call on them not to vote for Biden in 2024.

This weekend’s declarations took place in this context. Vice President Harris stressed that the US “fiercely” opposes the resettlement of Gaza residents outside the Strip once operations have resumed.

In this regard, there were voices on Sunday that once again warned of a possible war escalation in the area, after the Pentagon confirmed that a US destroyer and several commercial ships operating in the Red Sea were under the fire of drones and ballistic missiles.

The attack was launched from Yemen by the Houthi rebels, according to their claim, because they consider those ships to be helping Israel. The US command explained that the USS Carney neutralized a drone on Sunday when it was headed in their direction. Almost simultaneously, a Bahamian-flagged cargo ship was attacked by a missile that landed near its hull, a US Defense Department spokesman said. While the Carney observed possible damage to the freighter, they destroyed a drone heading towards that ship.

This is the third time Carney has suffered an attack since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. Many see behind it the guidance of Iran.