John Kirby: Israel has "extra burden" of doing everything it can to protect innocent lives in Gaza

Israeli leaders have "absolutely every right and responsibility" to go after Hamas in response to the terror attack the militant group launched on Israeli civilians and soldiers on Oct. 7, John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, told "CBS Mornings" on Monday.

But because Gaza is so densely populated, Kirby said, Israel has the "extra burden of making sure that they're doing everything they can to protect innocent life" in the Palestinian territory. 

"How they're doing that, that's really for them to speak to," said Kirby.

He said the U.S. and Israel have been in constant communication about the importance of respecting innocent civilian life and the laws of war, and about minimizing civilian casualties to the maximum extent possible.  

Health officials in the Hamas-controlled area reported Monday that weeks of continuous Israeli strikes on Gaza have resulted in over 8,300 deaths, including more than 3,400 children. Israel maintains it targets only Hamas and other militant groups, and blames civilian casualties on Hamas for sparking the war and hiding among Gaza's civilian population.  

Kirby said he won't speak to intelligence matters about the locations Israel has targeted with strikes. He also said the U.S. is not "evaluating each and every strike" by Israel, and is not going to react "in real time" to every operation they conduct. 

Israeli troops were inside Gaza on Monday in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the "next stage" of the war against Hamas militants. Grainy Israel Defense Forces video showed tanks rolling into the territory as ground operations increased. 

The military claimed to have killed dozens of Hamas militants who barricaded themselves inside buildings in the densely packed strip of land — and in a vast network of tunnels dug underneath them.

In regard to the more than 220 hostages, including American citizens, that Hamas militants took on Oct. 7, Kirby said the U.S. has very limited information about them "because we're not on the ground." 

But he said, "We want to get them home to their families. I can tell you this is something we're working literally by the hour."

Debora Patta, Agnes Reau and Tucker Reals contributed to this article. 

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