State Department: ‘We stand with Israel’ as Gaza chooses ‘tools of war’

“We condemn these attacks and call for their immediate halt. We stand with Israel as it defends itself against these attacks,” a State Department official said Monday.

By JNS and World Israel News Staff

As the latest attacks against Israel from Hamas have taken place in Gaza, the U.S. State Department condemned the terrorist group and reaffirmed that Israel has the right to defend itself.

“We are aware of reports of ongoing rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza against targets in Israel,” a State Department official told JNS on Monday. “We condemn these attacks and call for their immediate halt. We stand with Israel as it defends itself against these attacks.”

In response, the IDF struck over 100 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, including terror compounds, observation posts and rocket-launching squads. Israeli attacks continued into Tuesday morning.

The IDF also destroyed Hamas’ main TV channel, Al-Aqsa TV.

“Terrorists in Gaza are again attacking Israel with tools of war,” Jason Greenblatt tweeted, the administration’s Special Representative for International Negotiations.

“These rocket & mortar attacks on Israeli towns must be condemned by all. Israel is forced once again into military action to defend its citizens. We stand with Israel as it defends itself against these attacks.”

He continued, saying “Hamas’ activities continue to prove they don’t really care about the Palestinians of Gaza & their only interest is to use them for political purposes. Even Palestinian lives seem not to matter to Hamas.”

“The world has grown tired of Hamas’ violence and the violence of other bad actors in Gaza,” he added. “This violence prevents any real help for the people of Gaza.”