U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned Israel that failing to consider the lives of Palestinian civilians will lead to a “strategic defeat.”

“In this kind of a fight the center of gravity is the civilian population. And if you drive them into the arms of the enemy you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat,” Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin said at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday.

“So, I have repeatedly made clear to Israel’s leaders that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative,” he said.

The comment from the nation’s first Black secretary of defense came a day after an end to the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. World leaders have so far been unable to recover the breakdown in negotiations.

Since then, the Israeli bombardment of southern Gaza has continued with deadly consequences.

Images of Palestinian babies turned to ash by Israeli airstrikes have dominated social media sites like Instagram. Though they’ve failed to pierce into the broadcasts of national news.

Palestinian civilians face the brunt of IDF bombardment

Israeli airstrikes have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians since Oct. 7. With a ceasefire no longer in place, the Israeli Defense Forces continues its mission to eradicate Hamas.

The Israeli bombardment, which has targeted hospitals, schools and entire residential blocks, has continued for nearly two months. Both the Israeli military and Hamas militants have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Accounts of Hamas militants raping Israeli citizens, along with the deaths of premature babies in abandoned hospitals have dominated the airwaves.

The attacks come after the Hamas militant group launched a terror attack on Israeli communities on Oct. 7, killing over 1,200 people and taking over 200 hostage in a move that sought retaliation for decades of Israeli apartheid.

Hamas exchanged dozens of hostages for Palestinians captured by the Israeli government during a days-long ceasefire. With parties failing to agree on future exchanges, the Israeli assault risks displacing all 2.2 million Palestinians from Gaza.

It’s unclear whether Secretary Defense Lloyd Austin’s warning to Israel regarding the civilian death will result in less killings.

Polls: Americans split on support for Israel’s assault on Gaza

Not everyone shares Sec. Austin’s point of view. Half of Americans back Israel’s military action in Gaza, according to a Gallup poll published Nov. 30.

The poll, which was conducted between Nov. 1-Nov. 21, was divided along ethnicity and age.

Only 30 percent of respondents aged 18-34 supported Israel’s action in Gaza. Conversely, 63 percent of those aged 55 and older supported it. People 35-54 were split 5o-50.

Meanwhile, 61 percent of White respondents support Israel’s action in Gaza versus 30 percent of all People of color.

In addition to ethnicity and age, Republicans were far more likely to support Israel’s actions (71%) compared to Democrats (36%), with nearly half (47) of Independents in support.

“The lesson is not that you can win in urban warfare by protecting civilians,” said Austin. “The lesson is that you can only win in urban warfare by protecting civilians.”

While some question why it’s taken the deaths of over 15,000 Palestinian civilians, half of them children, for the U.S. Defense Secretary to caution restraint, Republicans like South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham feel differently.

“He’s so naïve. I mean, I just lost all confidence in this guy,” Sen. Graham told CNN.

Graham claimed Palestinians are taught to hate Jews from birth and compared Austin’s comments to criticism of the Iraq war.

“I like Secretary Austin, but this war has shown to me … if we were attacked like this, which we were on 9/11, if somebody called for us within two months to have a cease-fire against Al Qaeda, we would have laughed them out of town, we would have run them out of town. Secretary Austin is telling Israel things that are impossible to achieve,” Graham said.

Even if Israel’s military is successful in eradicating Hamas from controling Gaza, the fate of the Palestinian people remains a question.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied claims his military is committing genocide, ethnic cleansing or collective punishment, despite statements from some of his own officials.

Over the weekend, The Intercept journalist Ryan Grim published a report which showed an Israeli media outlet with close ties to Netanyahu publicized plans to “thin” the Palestinian population in Gaza to a “minimum.”

The plan reportedly faces resistant from less far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet. Secretary Defense Lloyd Austin didn’t comment on the published plans, and Pres. Biden hasn’t articulated any clear objectives for what happens after the bombardment.

On Oct. 20, roughly two weeks into the conflict, the White House asked for $3.45 Billion in resettlement funds.

The money would go to resettling refugees from Ukraine and for the “potential needs of Gazans fleeing to neighboring countries.”