The Hamas terrorist group is the party responsible for the suffering in Gaza, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a press briefing on Monday, hours before Israel relaunched military strikes on the terrorist group.
Said Arikat, Washington bureau chief for the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper, asked Bruce whether the United States was concerned about the “very dire” situation in Gaza since Israel on March 2 suspended the entry of aid to the Strip.
“I was wondering if you are really concerned about this, and especially this coincided with the beginning of Ramadan as well, where people need food and water and so on,” Arikat said. “I mean, it is starvation used as a method to pressure people. Is that—is that—isn’t that a war crime of some sort, internationally?”
To which Bruce replied: “For the horrible suffering of the Gazan people, we know where that sits. It sits with Hamas.”
She added that the people who are suffering in Gaza owe that to “choices that Hamas has made throughout the years, and that is what we continue to work on.”
Hours after the press briefing, Israel announced that its military had struck Hamas targets in Gaza, citing the terrorist group’s repeated refusal to accept a proposal from mediators to extend the first phase of the ceasefire and to release hostages.
Later in the briefing, Bruce was asked about “escalating violence in the West Bank” and whether the State Department has concerns “over what we’re seeing in terms of Israeli actions in the north in Jenin and Tulkarem?”
“Well, the United States position—certainly the State Department—is that we stand steadfastly with Israel,” Bruce said. “Israel has seen certain security concerns that they have and they’re taking actions regarding those security concerns, and we stand with those decisions and what the Israelis choose to do in that framework.”