US knocks Israel over “horrifying” strike in Gaza that killed children

The United States has joined many other nations to raise concerns about a “horrifying” Israeli strike in Gaza that killed a large number of children.

“We are deeply concerned by the loss of civilian life in this incident. This was a horrifying incident with a horrifying result,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, making a reference to “reports of two dozen children killed” in the bombing that destroyed the five-story block in Beit Lahia.

“We have reached out to the government of Israel to ask what happened here,” Miller said.

Also Read: Nigeria: Muslim rights body charges police to probe death report on Sultan of Sokoto

Despite the attack on innocent children, Miller suggested no immediate punishment against Israel, which relies on US military and diplomatic support.

He however reiterated a US call for a negotiated end to the Gaza war that began with the Hamas attack on Israel of October 7, 2023.

The “tragic cost to civilians” in the latest strike “is another reminder of why we need to see an end to this war,” Miller said.

“We are a year into the government of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and Israel has decimated Hamas’s military capabilities, it has decimated Hamas leadership, it has through its military action ensured that Hamas does not have the ability to repeat the attacks of October 7,” Miller stressed.

In a similar development, the State Department reiterated its worries over the Israeli parliament’s passage Monday of a law to ban the UN agency responsible for aiding Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, a step that contradicted appeals by Western nations.