Israel is doing everything it can to ensure that civilians in the Gaza Strip are not harmed during his operations against Hamas, such as dropping leaflets to warn them to leave, but his efforts to limit the number of casualties “were not successful”, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.

In an interview with CBS, Netanyahu was asked whether the deaths of thousands of Palestinians in Israel’s operation against Hamas might fuel hatred in the new generation.

“Any civilian death is a tragedy. And there shouldn’t be anyone (death) because we are doing everything we can so that civilians don’t get hurt, while Hamas does everything it can to get them hurt,” the Israeli prime minister replied.

“We send leaflets, we call them on their mobiles and tell them: ‘go away’. And many left,” he explained.

Israel has stated that the goal of its military operation in the Gaza Strip is to eliminate Hamas.

“The other thing I can say is that we will try to complete the operation with as few civilian casualties as possible. That’s what we’re trying to achieve: the least possible civilian casualties. But, unfortunately, we are not succeeding,” Netanyahu noted.

The Israeli president then said he wanted to draw a parallel with Germany, but the CBS reporter interrupted him by asking him about the security of the Gaza Strip after the war.

According to Hamas authorities, at least 11,500 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7, including more than 4,700 children.

Two thirds of the enclave’s 2.4 million inhabitants they have been left homeless because of the war. On Thursday, the Israeli Air Force dropped leaflets in four towns in southern Gaza — areas Israel had previously told them would be safe — asking Palestinians to leave for their own safety.

Israel has also dropped leaflets in northern Gaza demanding the evacuation of civilians. Hundreds of thousands have moved south.