Despite Gaza death toll soaring, US unlikely to rethink weapons supplies to Israel

An injured Palestinian girl named Lana Ebu Safi is under treatment at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after Israeli attacks that continue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza. Picture: Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images

Facing a soaring death toll from Israel's renewed offensive in southern Gaza, the Biden administration is trying to pressure its ally to minimize civilian deaths while stopping well short of the kind of measures that might force it to listen, such as threatening to restrict military aid.

Top US officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have urged Israel publicly to conduct a more surgical offensive in the south to avoid the heavy civilian casualties inflicted by its attacks in the north.