Civilian death toll in Gaza 'too high,' comes at strategic cost to Israel, senior US Senator says

The civilian death toll from Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip "has been too high," a senior US Senator said Wednesday.

Chris Murphy, a Democratic member of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the AFP "a more surgical approach would be important and vital" to Israel's war effort.

"I am concerned that if Israel's strategy and end goal is to defeat Hamas, then this pace of civilian casualties, which certainly comes with a moral cost, also comes with a strategic cost," Murphy said. 

Murphy was one of 20 senators who sent a letter Wednesday to US President Joe Biden urging that Israel "abide by the laws of war," including protection of civilians, and to "learn from the mistakes the United States made in our fight against terrorism" two decades ago.