The Israeli military’s ability to avoid destroying civilian infrastructure funded by the US government in Gaza demonstrates that Israeli forces are practising “selective restraint” in what they target for destruction, Associated Press reports quoting Human Rights Watch’s ex-director Kenneth Roth as saying.

Roth made his remark following an investigation by the AP news agency, which found that Israeli air strikes and shelling in Gaza appear to be avoiding most major infrastructure projects funded by the US government.

“That selective restraint by Israel’s bombers suggests that blaming [the] use by Hamas for all civilian damage is far from the whole story,” Roth said on social media.

According to the AP, the US has spent some $7bn on development and humanitarian aid projects in Gaza and the occupied West Bank over a number of decades, including $270m under current US President Joe Biden.