US did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria, State Department says

The United States did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria, the State Department says, adding that Washington made clear its displeasure after tensions escalated and worked quickly to stop it.

Yesterday, Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus, while also hitting government forces in the south, demanding that they withdraw and saying that Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze — part of a small but influential minority that also has a presence in Lebanon and in Israel.

“Regarding Israel’s intervention and activity… the United States did not support recent Israeli strikes,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce tells reporters at a regular news briefing.

“We are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between the two sovereign states.”

Bruce declines to say whether Washington supports Israel carrying out such military operations when it deems necessary.

“I won’t speak to future conversations or past ones. What we’re dealing with now is this particular episode, what was required, and I think we’ve been very clear about our displeasure, certainly that the president has, and we’ve worked very quickly to have it stopped,” she says.

She adds that the United States condemns violence in Syria and says Washington is actively engaging all constituencies in Syria to navigate toward calm and continued discussions on integration, calling on the Syrian government to lead the path forward.