It is too early to make a definitive assessment of whether or not Israel was heeding US calls to protect civilians in its renewed military operations in Gaza, the State Department has said.

According to Reuters, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that Israel’s targeted evacuations were an improvement compared to telling an entire city to vacate.

Washington had seen some aspects of Israel’s operations in south Gaza that do not look like the earlier assault on the north, Miller said.

Intense Israeli air strikes hit the south of the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians, including in areas where Israel had told people to seek shelter, residents and journalists on the ground said.