SIMI VALLEY, California — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered a stark public warning to Israel on Saturday, saying the government there risks “strategic defeat” in Gaza if it doesn’t do more to protect civilians.
The comments came a day after the breakdown in negotiations over hostage and prisoner releases led to the resumption of the Israel-Hamas war. Austin told an audience at the Reagan National Defense Forum that if Israel doesn’t do everything possible to protect civilians, it might help “drive [Palestinians] into the arms of the enemy,” and would “ replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat.”
The Biden administration has been warning its........