Herzog made the remarks at the Atlantic Council when asked to comment on US President Joe Biden's remarks made at a campaign event earlier in December that Israel is losing international support over its "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza.
"First of all, I don't think we are carrying out any indiscriminate bombing. All our activities are followed very closely by legal counsel," Herzog said at the Atlantic Council.
The Israeli president said that his country’s military checks all targets and issues notices through leaflets, text messages and/or calls to the civilian population before proceeding with any kind of attack.
"We give them hours to prepare," he stated.
Locations that are determined to be questionable are not attacked, Herzog said. He, however, noted that due to the nature of conflict in an urban and densely populated setting, "tragic damages" could result from strikes. Israel follows international law, treats individuals with caution, takes and seeks advice and exchanges opinions with its partners, Herzog argued.
"One thing is clear. The people of Gaza are not our enemy. The enemy is only Hamas, and we're fighting Hamas and its partners," Herzog said.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Israel committed many different war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The OHCHR said that the forced displacement of people, the systematic targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and the collective punishment used out by Israel against the people of the Gaza Strip are war crimes, noting that only a competent court will be able to determine whether it constitutes genocide.
The death toll from Israel's bombing of Gaza has topped 19,000 since the October 7 Hamas attack.
