US stands firmly with Israel against rocket aggression

“The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel,” said a statement by State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus early Sunday. “We call on those responsible for the violence to cease this aggression immediately. We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self-defense against these abhorrent attacks,” the statement added. Jason Greenblatt, the US Special Representative for International Negotiations, tweeted: “Hamas & PIJ have engaged in yet another deplorable act of terrorism, indiscriminately firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilian communities. The US stands firmly in support of Israel’s right to self-defense and we call on the international community to do the same.

The European Union said the “rocket fire from Gaza towards Israel must stop immediately,” without naming its perpetrators and adding only: “Israelis and Palestinians both have the right to live in peace, security and dignity.”