Air strike in Gaza
Air strike in GazaMajdi Fathi/TPS

The White House said on Tuesday it was closely following Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, in which three leaders of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization were eliminated on Monday night.

A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said Washington is also aware of reports that 10 civilians were "tragically killed" in the strikes.

"We call for all parties to deescalate the situation," said the spokesperson, according to the Reuters news agency.

"Israel has the right to protect itself and defend its people from indiscriminate rocket attacks launched by terrorist groups," added the spokesperson.

The comments are similar in nature to the statement issued earlier by the US embassy in Jerusalem, which said, "We are closely following Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip that killed three leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Israel has the right to protect itself and its people from indiscriminate rocket attacks launched by terrorist groups. We are also aware of reports that 10 civilians were tragically killed in the Israeli strikes. We call for all parties to de-escalate the situation."

The embassy’s statement was an amendment to an earlier statement, which did not include the sentence about Israel's right to defend itself, though it did contain a sentence reiterating that America's "commitment to Israel's security remains ironclad."

Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN, MK Danny Danon, said in response to the embassy's statement: "Tonight I tell our friends in the US that Israel will continue to steadfastly protect its citizens. Just as the United States would not hesitate to act if even one rocket landed within its territory, neither will we."