The Israeli military is doing all it can to get civilians out of harm’s way amid its war in Gaza, but its attempts to minimise casualties are “not successful,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israeli leader’s comments came after he was asked by US television channel CBS News on Thursday whether the killing of thousands of Palestinians in retaliation for the October 7 attack by Hamas would fuel hatred in a new generation.

“Any civilian death is a tragedy. And we shouldn’t have any because we’re doing everything we can to get the civilians out of harm’s way, while Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way,” Netanyahu said.

“So, we send leaflets, [we] call them on their cell phones, and we say: ‘leave’. And many have left,” Netanyahu said.

The same day, Israel’s air force dropped leaflets in parts of south Gaza telling people to evacuate for their own safety.

It was not clear where they were supposed to evacuate to as Israel continues to wage war across the besieged territory.

Weeks earlier, Israel also used leaflet drops in northern Gaza to warn civilians to move to the south.

Hundreds of thousands have done so, in a mass displacement that many Palestinians fear could become permanent.

“The other thing that I can say is that we’ll try to finish that job with minimal civilian casualties. That’s what we’re trying to do: minimal civilian casualties. But unfortunately, we’re not successful,” the Israeli prime minister said.

Netanyahu then said he wanted to draw a parallel with something related to Germany, but he was interrupted by the CBS interviewer, who asked him a question about Gaza’s post-war security.

Palestinian civilians have borne the brunt of Israel’s weeks-long military campaign, which has come in response to the attack by Hamas that Israel says killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.