RAMALLAH: As Israel's offensive against the Gaza Strip continues, the United States Department of State issued a statement condemning Hamas for firing rockets on southern Israel. The latest round of fighting began on Saturday, when Gazan fighters fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli military jeep near the Gaza border, injuring three soldiers. Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation from Palestine, both of whom took credit for the attack, claimed it was in response to the murder of a 13-year-old Palestinian boy during an Israeli military incursion into Gaza earlier that week. Five days of violence temporarily subsided with a short-lived ceasefire, broken on Wednesday when Israel launched “Operation Pillar of Defense" and assassinated Ahmad Jabari, the military chief of armed wing of Hamas. The offensive is the largest military operation against Gaza since the 2008 Operation Cast Lead, during which nearly 13 Israelis were killed and nearly 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza. In the largest military offensive against Gaza since the 2008 Operation Cast Lead, Israel pummeled Gaza non-stop with air, naval, and tank strikes across the narrow coastal enclave, Al-Arabiya News reports. Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, is roughly 365 square kilometers and home to 1.6 million Palestinians, nearly 80 percent of which are already refugees. Al-Jazeera reports that nearly 200 rockets from Gazan militants have been fired into southern Israel since Jabari's assassination early Wednesday evening. Israeli airstrikes have raised the Palestinian death toll to at least 13, and well over a hundred have been injured. A direct rocket strike on a civilian home in Kiryat Malakhi killed three Israelis, the Israeli military has confirmed. Jonnie, a 25-year-old Israeli and father of two, told BikyaMasr.com the fighting “is futile because violence just perpetuates more violence. The worst thing—people of all stripes and nationalities are going to start passing judgment about which side they think is the aggressor." He added, “But all the criticism is easy. What we need is a suggestion for a more viable future. Until then I will hold my hands in my head and sob sadly for every single person involved in this mess." US President Obama stated his support for Israel and claimed that it had a right to defend itself against rockets from Gaza. “We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence," the US State Department statement read. It continued: “There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel. We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately. We support Israel's right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties."
