The Biden administration has told Israel that it must work to avoid “significant further displacement” of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza if it renews its ground campaign aimed at eradicating the Hamas militant group, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday. Separately, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the Israelis have been receptive when U.S. officials have raised the issue. The Democratic administration, seeking to avoid more large-scale civilian casualties or mass displacement like that seen before the current temporary pause in the fighting, underscored to the Israelis that they must operate with far greater precision in southern Gaza than they did in the north, said officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. Amid mounting international and domestic pressure about the rising Palestinian death toll, the White House has begun to put greater pressure on Israel that the manner of the coming campaign must be “carefully thought through,” according to one of the officials. Kirby, told reporters separately, “Now you have an added population of hundreds of thousands more in the south that you didn’t have before (the Israelis) moved into Gaza City.” “And so it’s even all that more of an added burden on Israel to make sure that as they start to plan for operations in the south, whatever that looks like, that they have properly accounted for…the extra innocent life that is now in south Gaza.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear that Israeli Defense Forces will eventually restart military operations after the conclusion of the current, temporary cease-fire that has allowed for an exchange of hostages taken by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The two sides agreed Monday to extend the truce for an additional two days and to continue swapping hostages for prisoners. President Joe Biden has said he would like to see the pause — which has also allowed a surge of much-needed humanitarian aid to get into Gaza — continue as long as feasible. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as the U.S. hopes to find a way to extend the cease-fire and get more hostages released, the State Department said Monday. It will be his third trip to the region since Israel’s war with Hamas began last month. Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns and David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, as well as Egyptian officials met in Qatar on Tuesday for talks on the same matter, according to a diplomatic official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. Negotiations are turning to the dozens of Israeli men and Israeli security force members held captive in hopes of keeping the cease-fire and hostage-for-prisoner swap going, said Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. Those released since Friday’s truce started have been mainly women and children. Brokering swaps for Israeli forces are expected to be much more difficult for U.S. and Arab negotiators, Cook said. Hamas in the past has demanded Israel release large numbers of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention in exchange for each Israeli soldier. “The price may be too high for the Israelis,” Cook said. The Americans spotlighted their concerns about civilians in Gaza as the […]