Israel is doing all it can to get civilians out of harm's way as it battles Hamas in Gaza, including dropping leaflets warning them to flee, but its attempts to minimize casualties were "not successful”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, reported from  Reuters.

Netanyahu was asked by US television’s CBS News whether Israel’s killing of thousands of Palestinians as it retaliates for the October 7 attack by Gaza’s ruling Hamas militants would fuel a new generation of hatred.

"Any civilian death is a tragedy. And we shouldn’t have any because we're doing everything we can to get the civilians out of harm's way, while Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way,” Netanyahu said.

"So we send leaflets, (we) call them on their cell phones, and we say, ‘leave’. And many have left,” Netanyahu said.

Israel has said the goal of its military campaign is to destroy Hamas.

"The other thing that I can say is that we’ll try to finish that job with minimal civilian casualties. That’s what we’re trying to do: minimal civilian casualties. But unfortunately, we’re not successful.”

Netanyahu then said he wanted to draw a parallel with something related to Germany, but he was interrupted by the CBS interviewer, who asked him a question about Gaza’s post-war security.





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