Washington does not regard an Israeli strike on a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist cell that plotted to attack soldiers in Gaza as a truce violation, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday.
“We don’t view that as a violation of the ceasefire,” said Rubio, speaking aboard Air Force One during President Donald Trump’s Asia tour.
“They have the right if there’s an imminent threat to Israel, and all the mediators agree with that,” Washington’s top diplomat emphasized.
The Israel Defense Forces struck a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative in the central Strip on Saturday evening, according to the military foiling an “imminent terrorist attack” against its troops stationed there.
The strike was carried out in the Nuseirat camp, according to the IDF.
IDF Southern Command forces remain deployed in Gaza in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and “will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” according to Saturday’s military statement.
