The United States President, Barack Obama, said on Monday that the world must focus on a ceasefire in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to put an end to rising civilian casualties.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama repeated that Israel had the right to defend itself against onslaughts from Hamas militants.
He however expressed serious concerns about the growing number of civilian deaths resulting from the conflict.
He said: “As I’ve said many times, Israel has a right to defend itself against rocket and tunnel attacks from Hamas.
“And as a result of its operations, Israel has already done significant damage to Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.
“I’ve also said, however, that we have serious concerns about the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths and the loss of Israeli lives.
“And that is why it now has to be our focus and the focus of the international community to bring about a ceasefire that ends the fighting and that can stop the deaths of innocent civilians.”
Reports say that the Palestinian death toll in an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip rose above 500 on Monday.
Hamas, which killed 13 Israeli soldiers in Gaza on Sunday in the biggest one-day toll in eight years, continued to fire rockets deep into Israeli territory.
On Friday in New York, Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Prof. Joy Ogwu, said a return to the negotiation table remained the only way to sustainable peace in the region.
Ogwu spoke at a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.
She said in spite of the calls from around the world for a de-escalation of the violence in the region, the conflict had worsened.
She said: “While we recognise Israel’s inherent right to protect its citizens from attack, its response must be proportionate and in consonance with the international humanitarian law.
“The civilian toll on the Palestinian side, especially the killings of women and children, is simply unjustifiable.”
Ogwu also called on Hamas to cease its “indiscriminate rocket attacks”, saying: “Violence begets violence.”
She said this makes political solutions impossible.
The Nigerian envoy called on leaders on both sides to show restraint and urged international partners to do everything possible to forge a return to negotiations.
“The doors to a diplomatic solution must remain open towards a two-State solution,” Ogwu said.
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