Biden admin condemns Hamas rocket attacks against Israel as ‘28 Palestinians killed including 10 kids’
THE White House has condemned ongoing rocket attacks by Hamas against Israel and has called for de-escalation in the region after 30 have died in some of the worst violence seen for several years.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday that President Joe Biden has been briefed “daily” on the conflict in Jerusalem and Gaza, including a video showing a barrage of rockets striking Tel Aviv earlier today.
“Since last week he has directed his team to engage intensively with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials as well as leaders throughout the Middle East,” Psaki said of the president during her daily briefing.
“His team is communicating a clear and consistent message of de-escalation and that is our primary focus.”
Psaki said Biden support “for Israel’s security, for its legitimate right to defend itself and its people, is fundamental and will never waiver.”
“We condemn ongoing rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups against Jerusalem. We also stand against extremism that has inflicted violence on both communities,” she continued
Psaki assured that Biden and his administration would continue to pursue diplomacy and de-escalation, calling it the president’s “primary focus”.
She also reiterated Biden’s support for a two-state solution to the conflict.
“That is the only way to ensure the just and lasting peace the two peoples have struggled to achieve,” she said.
Several days of clashes in Jerusalem escalated rapidly overnight Tuesday as Israel unleashed new airstrikes on Gaza while militants barraged Israel with hundreds of rockets.
So far 30 people have been confirmed dead. The death toll includes 28 Palestinians – 10 of whom were children – and two Israeli women.
The violence first erupted on Monday when more than 160 rockets were launched into civilian crowds from Gaza – reaching as far as Jerusalem – while thousands of Israelis were celebrating Jerusalem Day.
From there on, the escalation was rapid.
Gaza militants fired more than 500 rockets at Israel, with about one-third falling short and landing in Gaza, officials said.
At midday, a barrage of some 10 rockets was fired at the southern city of Ashdod, filling the skies with streaks of white smoke.
A rocket that hit an apartment building in Ashkelon injured six people, according to Israeli paramedic service Magen David Adom. A building in Ashdod was also hit, wounding four, Israeli police said.
By late Tuesday, the violence extended to Tel Aviv, which came under fire from an onslaught of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip.
A 13-story building in the Gaza Strip was also seen collapsing to the ground after being hit by an Israeli airstrike.
So far, 28 Palestinians — including 10 children and a woman— have been killed in Gaza, most by airstrikes, health officials there said.
The Israeli military said at least 16 of the dead were militants.
Two women were killed by rockets fired from Gaza that hit their homes in the southern city of Ashkelon — the first Israeli deaths in the current violence.
At least 10 other Israelis have been wounded since Monday evening.
After those deaths, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “increase both the strength and rate of the strikes” against militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.”
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, told reporters that Israel was beefing up defensive forces on the border to prevent possible infiltrations and increasing its offensive forces as well, primarily in the air.
He said the objective was to send a “clear message” to Hamas.
Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and numerous skirmishes since the militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007.
Recent rounds of fighting have usually ended after a few days, often helped by mediation by Qatar, Egypt, and other surrounding nations.
Israel carried out dozens of airstrikes, including two that targeted high-rise apartment buildings where militants were believed to be hiding.
At midday, an airstrike hit a building in central Gaza City, sending terrified residents running into the street, including women and barefoot children.
The Islamic Jihad militant group confirmed that the strike killed three of its commanders.
Another strike hit a highrise as people were conducting dawn prayers, killing a woman, her 19-year-old disabled son and another man.
In addition to the 28 Palestinian’s confirmed dead, the Gaza Health Ministry said 152 others have so far been injured.
Ashraf al-Kidra, a spokesman for the ministry, said Israel’s “relentless assault” was overwhelming the health care system, which was already straining amid a COVID-19 outbreak.
In Gaza, most of the deaths were attributed to airstrikes. However, seven of the deaths were members of a single-family, including three children, who died in an explosion in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.
It was not clear if that blast was caused by an Israeli airstrike or errant rocket.
The barrage of rockets and airstrikes was preceded by hours of clashes Monday between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
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