(Washington) The United States and Canada on Saturday condemned “the horrific terrorist attacks by Hamas” against Israel, ensuring they remain “firmly” alongside their ally after a surprise offensive launched from the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian Islamist movement.
US President Joe Biden has been “briefed” by his national security advisers about the “horrific Hamas terrorist attacks” against Israel and continues to monitor the situation, the White House said in a short statement.
“The United States unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel, including against civilians,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Canada also “unreservedly condemns the terrorist attack currently being carried out against Israel” and “fully supports Israel and its right to defend itself”, affirmed its Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, while calling to preserve the lives of civilians.
At least 198 people were killed on Saturday in the Gaza Strip in Israeli retaliation for a surprise Hamas offensive, according to the Health Ministry of the Islamist movement in power in the Palestinian enclave.
At least 70 people have died since the start of the Hamas offensive which fired thousands of rockets towards Israel, and whose fighters infiltrated Israeli localities, Israeli emergency services said.
Pentagon chief Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said his department would ensure Israel had “what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism.”
“Our commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself remains unwavering,” Mr. Austin added in a statement, denouncing “despicable attacks against civilians.”
President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is in close contact with Israeli partners, said Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
President Biden and his administration have been pushing for months for a normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, two of the United States’ oldest allies in the Middle East who share concern over Iran’s developing nuclear program.
American-Israeli relations have become significantly strained since the return to power in December 2022 of Benjamin Netanyahu, at the head of a government that Joe Biden described as “the most extreme” in the history of the country.
The American administration deplores the reform of the Israeli judicial system which it considers “undemocratic” and the continued Israeli colonization of Palestinian territories.
Since the start of the year, violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has intensified and had already claimed the lives before Saturday of at least 247 Palestinians, 33 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian, according to an AFP count established from official sources.