Pentagon says there are no limits on how Israel uses US weapons as death toll climbs amid airstrikes in Gaza

• The Pentagon says there are no limits on how Israel uses US-provided weapons in their attacks in Gaza.
• A spokesperson said it's up to the IDF how it uses the weapons.
• Israeli airstrikes have devastated the Gaza Strip, and a new ground offensive could do further damage.

The US is not putting any limits on how Israel uses US-provided weapons in its bloody war against Hamas that has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians and destroyed parts of the Gaza Strip, the Pentagon says as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ramps up its retaliatory attacks in the area. 

On Monday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told that "we are not putting any limits on how Israel uses weapons that [are] provided," Voice of America National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin reported. "We're not putting any constraints on that," she said.

"This is really up to the Israeli Defense Force," Singh said, noting that it is up to the IDF "how they are going to conduct their operations."

A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to Insider the reported comments were substantively accurate. 

The US has provided unwavering support for Israel since Hamas militants conducted surprise terror attacks on October 7, killing some 1,400 people, injuring another 5,400, and taking over 200 hostages into Gaza.

In response to those attacks, Israel began a relentless and devastating bombing campaign in Gaza, launching strikes against the strip before beginning a ground assault last weekend, with Israeli tanks advancing on Gaza City. So far, Israel's campaign has killed over 8,000 Palestinians and injured over 16,000 more, according to numbers provided by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. 

Israel, the biggest overall recipient of US aid, received expedited support after the October 7 attack, including interceptors for its Iron Dome air-defense system and precision-guided munitions. The US also sent two carrier strike groups sent to positions nearby while bolstering regional airpower to deter other parties hostile to Israel, such as Hezbollah, from escalating conflict into a larger regional war. 

Since Israel began its campaign in Gaza in an attempt to destroy Hamas, concern has grown over destruction in the strip and rising number of civilian casualties. The death toll and destruction has been staggering, unprecedented in any previous Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The figures coming out of the war, some of which have been called into question but nonetheless reflect a continuing tragedy, have prompted protests in support of Palestinians and calls for ceasefires in places around the world.

According to Singh, the US remains vocal about Israel's need to follow humanitarian laws while it conducts its war against Hamas, saying the US continues "to advocate that humanitarian laws, the law of armed conflict, are always upheld."

"We are going to continue to engage with the IDF and with the Israelis on their operations and making sure that they are, in their thinking, prioritizing civilian life," she said. 

Gaza is home to over 2 million people. Many have been asked by the IDF to evacuate, but some have chosen to stay or are simply unable to leave, meaning civilians are stuck in the combat zone. The US and Israel have also accused Hamas of using Palestinians as human shields and trying to stall Israel's ground invasion of the strip using hostages.

Despite the US saying it continues to prioritize Israel minimizing civilian casualties, officials have said the war will still be costly and take a heavy toll on the civilian population in Gaza.

"This is war. It is combat. It is bloody. It is ugly, and it's going to be messy. And innocent civilians are going to be hurt going forward," White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said at a press briefing last week. "I wish I could tell you something different. I wish that that wasn't going to happen. But it is — it is going to happen." 

US law stipulates that security assistance cannot be "provided to any country the government of which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights," but the language is somewhat vague and allows for flexible interpretation.

Josh Paul, former director of the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs and Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at US Department of State, retired amid US support for Israel after the Hamas attacks and has criticized the Biden administration's response to the conflict. He told PBS recently the humanitarian review process for aid to Israel is basically nonexistent. 

"There is a Leahy vetting process for Israel," he said. "It has never found an Israeli unit to be guilty of a gross violation of human rights. It's a broken system."

In the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel and during the subsequent war against the militants in Gaza, the US has repeatedly said that it supports Israel's right to defend itself.