US warns Israel on next phase of war

(JNS) — The White House says it won’t support Israel’s plan to expand its operations into the south of the Gaza Strip unless it shows it will protect the Palestinian civilians there.

In a Tuesday press call, U.S. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said the United States won’t support Israel “moving forward with operations in the south absent a clearly articulated plan for how they’re going to protect the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people” there.

“There’s an obligation for them to factor that into their planning,” Kirby said.

The NSC spokesman noted that the population in...