Obama: We have serious concerns over Gaza deaths
President Barack Obama has called for the international community to focus on ending the fighting in the Gaza Strip, as Secretary of State John Kerry headed to the Middle East to make a renewed push for a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.
Voicing fresh concern about civilian casualties, President Obama reaffirmed his belief that Israel has the right to defend itself against rockets being launched by Hamas into Israel.
Yet he contended that Israel’s military action in Gaza had already done “significant damage” to the Hamas terrorist infrastructure and said he doesn’t want to see more civilians getting killed.
“We have serious concerns about the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths and the loss of Israeli lives,” Mr Obama said.
“And that is why it now has to be our focus and the focus of the international community to bring about a ceasefire that ends the fighting and can stop the deaths of innocent civilians, both in Gaza and in Israel.”
As President Obama spoke from South Lawn of the White House, Mr Kerry was flying to Cairo, where he planned to join diplomatic efforts to resume a truce that had been agreed to in November 2012.
He will urge the militant Palestinian group to accept a cease-fire agreement offered by Egypt that would halt nearly two weeks of fighting. More than 500 Palestinians and 20 Israelis have been killed in that time.
The Obama administration, including Mr Kerry, is sharpening its criticism of Hamas for its rocket attacks on Israel and other provocative acts, like tunnelling under the border. It is also toning down an earlier rebuke of Israel for attacks on the Gaza Strip that have killed civilians, including children.
In a statement on Sunday evening, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US and international partners were “deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation, and the loss of more innocent life”.
Cairo’s ceasefire plan is backed by the US and Israel. But Hamas has rejected the Egyptian plan and is relying on governments in Qatar and Turkey for an alternative proposal. Qatar and Turkey have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is also linked to Hamas but banned in Egypt.
