The White House has warned Israel against carrying out offensive operations in southern Gaza until it has adjusted to account for the hundreds of thousands of civilians who have fled south amid fierce fighting in the north.
Israel's military, which has said Hamas leadership also fled south, is likely to move into the southern enclave, according to White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, who added that the country has the “right” to do so, despite the serious concerns over civilian casualties.
“We think that their operations should not go forward until those people, those additional civilians, have been accounted for," he said, adding, "We will be conveying that directly to them."
Finer told CBS' "Face the Nation" that Israel should learn from its operations in the north and focus on "greater and enhanced protections for civilian life."
Finer suggested "narrowing the area of active combat" and "clarifying where civilians can seek refuge from the fighting" to help that happen.
On the future for post-war Gaza: Finer said the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control of the West Bank, will “have to be part” of any future governing solution in both the West Bank and Gaza following the current hostilities — a prospect that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly opposed.
“Our view is the Palestinian Authority is the only official institutional representative of the Palestinian people in the West Bank, that it will have to be part of any way forward when it comes to governance both in Gaza and the West Bank,” Finer said.
But, Finer acknowledged, the PA faces legitimacy challenges as they work toward any future solution. He said the US government would help the PA enhance "their legitimacy" and "capacity to be able to play this important role."
Remember: The Palestinian Authority is a separate government body operating out of the West Bank that was established as part of the 1993 Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that saw the PLO give up armed resistance against Israel in return for promises of an independent Palestinian state.
Hamas — which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, European Union and other countries — presents itself as an alternative to the PA, which has recognized Israel and has engaged in multiple failed peace initiatives with it.
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.