US had talks with Israel on setting up Gaza civilian harm channel

The United States has had conversations with Israel in the past week about establishing the first meeting of a channel for Washington to raise and discuss civilian harm incidents in Gaza, the State Department said on Thursday.

The first meeting has not yet taken place, but State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters the U.S. was hoping it would happen in the next week or two in person.

The U.S. proposed a new channel to "raise and discuss civilian harm incidents" with Israel in a letter sent by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last month, which gave Israel a month to take steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on U.S. military aid.