US scolds Israel over civilian casualties in Gaza

US scolds Israel over civilian casualties in Gaza

The Obama administration criticized Israel on Thursday for failing to do all it can to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza during cross-border attacks as Israel and Hamas consider a ceasefire agreement.

Noting the deaths a day earlier of four boys who were killed on a Gaza beach by an Israeli strike, the State Department said the high civilian death toll in Gaza has been "heartbreaking." Three more children were killed in Gaza on Thursday.

Still, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki also criticized Hamas militants in Gaza who continue to fire rockets and mortars into Israel, prolonging the latest round of violence in the Mideast that has so far killed 235 Palestinians and at least one Israeli.

"I don’t think we’ve made any secret about our strong concern about the actions of Hamas, the indiscriminate rocket attacks, the targeting of civilians," Psaki said. "And that concern remains."

Of the Gaza beach attacks that killed four cousins on Wednesday, Psaki called the attack "horrifying".

"The tragic event makes clear that Israel must take every possible step to meet its standards for protecting civilians from being killed," Psaki said. "We will continue to underscore that point to Israel."

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