The United States is talking to Israeli officials and others about the idea of a safe passage for Gaza civilians after Israel's air strikes following a deadly Hamas attack over the weekend, the U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday.
"We are focused on this question, there are consultations going on," Sullivan told reporters in a White House press briefing.
Israel has battered Palestinians with deadly air strikes in Gaza after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas' attack on Israel on Saturday that left hundreds dead.
The United Nations said more than 180,000 Gazans had been made homeless. Gazans have lived under an Israeli-led blockade for 16 years, since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.
Israel's embassy in Washington said the death toll from Hamas' weekend attacks had surpassed 1,000. Washington and some of its key Western allies have said Israel has the right to self-defense.
"We do not deliberately target civilians," Sullivan said of the U.S. and Israel, when asked about civilian casualties in Gaza in the Tuesday press briefing.
"We work to make sure that our military operations are conducted consistent with the rule of law and the law of war," he added.
