White House- Israel needs to do more to ensure civilians protected

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday that Israel has the right to defend itself against attacks from Hamas militants but needs to do more to ensure the protection of innocent civilians.

"What this escalation in violence makes clear is that Israel must take greater steps to meet its own standards for protecting civilians from being killed, and we'll continue to send that message directly to the Israelis," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in a briefing.