US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today that the United States does not consider the latest Israeli airstrike on Gaza a violation of the Washington-backed ceasefire, reports “Reuters“, quoted by BTA.
Israeli forces said on Saturday they had attacked a member of the “Islamic Jihad“ group accused of preparing an attack on Israeli soldiers. For its part, the organization denied the accusations and stated that it had not planned such an action.
“We do not see this as a violation of the ceasefire agreement“, Rubio said aboard the presidential plane Air Force One.
The Secretary of State stressed that Israel had not given up its right to self-defense, enshrined in the agreement reached with the mediation of the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
“Israel has this right if there is an immediate threat to the country, and all the mediators agree on this“, Rubio added.
He specified that the ceasefire in Gaza requires mutual commitments from both sides and again called on the “Hamas“ movement to return the bodies of the deceased hostages held captive.
According to Israeli authorities, the airstrike was carried out shortly after Marco Rubio left Israel, following a visit aimed at strengthening the ceasefire agreement.