The United States and its partners are urging Israel to have a well-defined strategy and communicate its goals clearly in the event of a ground invasion in Gaza, emphasizing the importance of avoiding a prolonged occupation and minimizing harm to civilian populations, CNN reports, citing official sources in the West and the United States.

Sources report that in confidential talks with Israeli counterparts, Western defense officials refrained from attempting to dissuade Israel from deploying ground troops to Gaza.

However, they emphasized that Israel needs to establish well-defined objectives related to removing Hamas from power and preventing an extended occupation of the Gaza Strip.

As CNN reports, a NATO defense minister said, “Our advice to them isn’t ‘Don’t do it,’ because we completely respect their right to go after Hamas and that means going after them wherever they are. So it’s not ‘Don’t do it,’ but it is ‘Think about what happens and have a strategy, not just a tactical maneuver.’ We expect Israel to act within international humanitarian law, but we understand that they’re dealing with an enemy here.”