Palestinians sit on a structure over the border wall, which was blown up by Palestinian militants earlier this week, on the border of Gaza Strip and Egypt in Rafah January 28, 2008. Egypt said on Monday it wanted the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas to control the border crossing with the Gaza Strip, thus excluding Hamas Islamists who have run the territory since June. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA)"We now have to see what unfolds from here," Sullivan told a news briefing, referring to Israel's operation in the southern Gaza city. "What we're going to be looking at is whether there is a lot of death and destruction from this operation or if it is more precise and proportional."
He said Israeli operations to date in the area have been targeted and limited.
He also said aid is flowing from a pier in Gaza to the Palestinians there, and that it was wrong for Israel to withhold funds from the West Bank.
Israel is retaliating against Hamas in Gaza - an enclave of 2.3 million people - over a brutal Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian militants. Aid access into southern Gaza has been disrupted since Israel stepped up military operations in Rafah, a move that the U.N. says has forced 900,000 people to flee and has raised tensions with Egypt.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose; Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
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