Israel ‘Saved Countless Lives’, Biden Says
US President Joe Biden. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
US President Joe Biden has commended the Israeli government for defending its people and saving “countless lives” during so-called ‘Operation Breaking Dawn’ against Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
Three days of continued Israeli attacks on Gaza has resulted in the killing of 41 Palestinians and the wounding of hundreds. [N.B. There was not a single Israeli casualty.]
“My support for Israel’s security is long-standing and unwavering — including its right to defend itself against attacks,” Biden said in a statement on Sunday night, as the ceasefire appeared to be holding.
“Over these recent days, Israel has defended its people from indiscriminate rocket attacks launched by the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the United States is proud of our support for Israel’s Iron-Dome, which intercepted hundreds of rockets and saved countless lives,” Biden added.
The truce followed three days of intense Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of 41 Palestinians, including 15 children and 4 women, Aljazeera, citing Palestinian sources reported.
311 Palestinians were reportedly wounded in the Israeli attack.
Biden called reported civilian deaths in Gaza a “tragedy” and urged a “timely and thorough investigation.” No casualties on the Israeli side have been reported.
The flare-up of tensions began last Monday, after Israel arrested Islamic Jihad’s West Bank leader, Bassem Saadi. A Palestinian teenager was killed during the raid on Saadi’s home.
Amid an outcry among Palestinians, the PIJ threatened retaliation and placed its fighters in Gaza on high alert.
On Friday, the Israeli army launched Operation Breaking Dawn, citing the “imminent threat of attack against Israeli civilians posed by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.” Israel provided no proof of the allegation.
The first strikes killed a senior PIJ commander, Tayseer al-Jabari, and by Sunday “essentially, all of the senior officials of Gaza’s Islamic Jihad have been eliminated,” according to the Israeli military.