US says Israeli strike on Gaza didn’t violate ceasefire
An Israeli strike on a member of an Islamic Jihad group in Gaza did not breach the ceasefire, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.
Marco Rubio and Benjamin Netanyahu Photo: Koby Gideon (GPO)
Washington does not view a strike that Israel says targeted a member of a Palestinian militant group in Gaza as a violation of a US-backed ceasefire, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.
Israel said it struck a member of the Islamic Jihad group on Saturday, accusing the individual of planning to attack Israeli troops.
Islamic Jihad denied it was planning an attack.
“We don’t view that as a violation of the ceasefire,” Rubio said aboard President Donald Trump’s plane during a trip to Asia.
The US’s top diplomat said Israel had not surrendered its right to self-defence as part of the agreement brokered by Washington, Egypt and Qatar under which the main militant faction in Gaza, Hamas, released the remaining living hostages held in Gaza in October.
“They have the right if there’s an imminent threat to Israel, and all the mediators agree with that,” Rubio said.
Rubio said the ceasefire in Gaza, which has remained in force between Israel and Hamas just over two years since the war began, was based on obligations on both sides, reiterating that Hamas needed to speed up the return of the remains of hostages who died in captivity.
Israel’s Saturday strike came shortly after Rubio departed Israel after a visit aimed at shoring up the ceasefire.
By Trevor Hunnicutt in ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/Reuters
