US Military Chief Warns Israel-Palestinian Conflict Destabilizing ‘Beyond Gaza’
SMA NEWS – WASHINGTON
The United States’ top military officer has warned the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is creating instability beyond Gaza, saying it is “in no one’s interest to continue fighting”.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, speaking to journalists while flying to Brussels for a NATO meeting, urged both sides in the conflict to de-escalate, echoing comments from President Joe Biden, who has said he backs a ceasefire.
“There is a significant amount of casualties and I just think that that level of violence is destabilizing beyond the limited area of Gaza,” Milley said late Wednesday, responding to a question about possible Iranian support for Hamas, AFP reported.
More than 200 Palestinians, including 61 children, have been killed since hostilities flared between the Jewish state and armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip last week, according to local authorities.
On Monday, Washington blocked a draft UN resolution calling for a halt to the violence for the third time, although in a call with the Israeli prime minister, Biden said he backed a truce.
“No one is denying the right of Israel to defend itself,” Milley told reporters.
“But having said that, the level of violence that is there is at such a level that it is in no one’s interest to continue fighting… Civilians are being killed. Children are being killed.”
