The United States wants Israel to better protect civilians facing significant suffering in the Gaza Strip, the US ambassador to the United Nations said on Wednesday. “These catastrophic conditions were predicted months ago, and yet, have still not been addressed. That must change, and now,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council. “We call on Israel to take urgent steps to do so.” She said there were already reports of deplorable conditions in the humanitarian zone in the southern and central Gaza Strip, where more than 1.5 million civilians had fled. Concerns have also been raise…