US Secretary of State John Kerry tells Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US strongly supports Israel’s right to defend itself against threats posed by the Gaza tunnels dug into Israel. It also urges Israel to limit its ground operation to a precision offensive against the tunnels, the State Department revealed late Thursday evening, Eastern time.
In a statement following the Thursday afternoon phone call between Netanyahu and Kerry, State Department officials said that “the secretary reaffirmed [the US’s] strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorist threats emanating from tunnels into Israel and expressed our view that this should be a precise operation to target tunnels, as described in a statement from the Israel Defense Forces.”
In his conversation with Netanyahu, Kerry also reiterated US concern about the safety and security of civilians on both sides and the importance of doing everything possible to prevent civilian casualties.
Kerry’s comments followed a strongly worded statement issued by State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki casting doubt as to whether Israel was really taking all steps possible to avoid civilian casualties.
— Rebecca Stoil-Shimoni
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Friday, July 18, 2014
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