The US said Monday that it expects Israel to honor its pledges not to strike areas where it has told Palestinians to flee ongoing mass bombardment in the besieged Gaza Strip.
"They have also indicated that there are areas where there will be no-strike zones. And in those zones, we do expect Israel to follow through on not striking," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters.
"We have laid out our expectation that, in the areas that Israel has asked people to go, that it ensure the safety and security of civilians, and that it do so in the conduct of its military operations, and then do so in the facilitation of humanitarian assistance getting to them," he added.
Sullivan's remarks come as Israel's war in Gaza nears its third month. The war began after Palestinian group Hamas launched a cross-border attack against Israel on Oct. 7 in which over 1,200 people were killed, according to official figures.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, nearly 16,000 people have been killed, roughly 70% of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the enclave. Roughly 1.8 million Palestinians have been displaced, representing about 80% of Gaza's population, according to the UN.
Roughly one in every two homes has been damaged or destroyed.
Asked if the US has communicated its expectations for how long the offensive can continue, Sullivan said those talks have taken place, but said: "it wouldn't be wise for me to lay that out in public for all of you, but it is a topic of conversation that we're having with Israel."
He emphasized that the US is "not in active talks with countries about resettling Palestinians out of Gaza into other countries at this time."
