Sen. Van Hollen bemoans 'unacceptably high' number of civilian deaths in Gaza

Chris Van Hollen expressed disapproval that Biden's message to Israel calling for a reduction in civilian deaths in Gaza is not being followed

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen on Sunday said the Biden administration is not being heeded in its entreaties for Israel to reduce the civilian death toll from the military campaign against Hamas extremists in Gaza, which is being carried out with U.S. support.

"I don't think it's getting through clearly enough because we continue to see unacceptably high levels of civilian casualties," Van Hollen told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl. "And when it comes to the humanitarian crisis [in Gaza], we still have a near-total siege."

The Maryland lawmaker, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, acknowledged there had recently been some positive developments, such as Israel opening an important border crossing into the territory -- but "it shouldn't take this long."

"Look, President [Joe] Biden has been absolutely right to stand with Israel in the objective of ending the military threat from Hamas. No more Oct. 7s," Van Hollen said, referencing the Hamas terror attack on Israel that sparked the war.

"But," the senator continued, "he's also right that how Israel conducts this operation, how the Netanyahu government conducts this operation, is important -- and that is why it's really essential that these issues be addressed. And they're not being addressed sufficiently enough to my mind."