US President Donald Trump on Sunday blasted Hamas and the Islamic Jihad over their continued rocket attacks on southern Israel.
“Once again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We support Israel 100% in its defense of its citizens,” Trump tweeted.
He also directly turned to the people of Gaza in a second tweet and urged them to work towards peace.
“To the Gazan people — these terrorist acts against Israel will bring you nothing but more misery. END the violence and work towards peace - it can happen!” he wrote.
Trump’s comments follow a tweet by Vice President Mike Pence, who expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself against the ongoing rocket attacks on the south.
“We strongly condemn the attacks in Gaza by Hamas terrorists. Israel has the absolute right to defend itself & the U.S. stands by our great ally Israel,” Pence tweeted.
On Saturday, the State Department condemned the rocket fire on southern Israel and expressed support for Israel’s right to self-defense.
“The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel,” said a statement by State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus.
“We call on those responsible for the violence to cease this aggression immediately. We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self-defense against these abhorrent attacks,” added the statement.