Washington – Obama Voices Concern About Casualties In Mideast

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    A Palestinian man looks on as an excavator searches for victims amongst the rubble of a house, which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip July 21, 2014. Washington – President Barack Obama called Monday for the international community to focus on ending the fighting in the Gaza Strip, as Secretary of State John Kerry headed to the Middle East to make a renewed push for a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.

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    Voicing fresh concern about civilian casualties, Obama reaffirmed his belief that Israel has the right to defend itself against rockets being launched by Hamas into Israel. Yet he contended that Israel’s military action in Gaza had already done “significant damage” to the Hamas terrorist infrastructure and said he doesn’t want to see more civilians getting killed.

    “We have serious concerns about the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths and the loss of Israeli lives,” Obama said. “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 can stop the deaths of innocent civilians, both in Gaza and in Israel.”

    As Obama spoke from South Lawn of the White House, Kerry was flying to Cairo, where he planned to join diplomatic efforts to resume a truce that had been agreed to in November 2012. He will urge the militant Palestinian group to accept a cease-fire agreement offered by Egypt that would halt nearly two weeks of fighting. More than 500 Palestinians and 27 Israelis have been killed in that time.

    The Obama administration, including Kerry, is sharpening its criticism of Hamas for its rocket attacks on Israel and other provocative acts, like tunneling under the border. At the same time, the U.S. is publicly encouraging Israel to take further steps to prevent Palestinian deaths.

    White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Israel and its military have standards for avoiding the deaths of innocent civilians, Israeli or Palestinian.

    “We would like to see Israel take greater steps to ensure that they’re adhering to those standards,” he said.

    The U.N. relief agency in Gaza estimates that 70,000 Palestinians have fled their homes in the fighting and are seeking shelter in schools and other shelters the United Nations has set up.

    U.S. officials said Hamas could bring relief to the Palestinian people if it agrees to a cease-fire proposed by Egypt — a view Netanyahu is pushing as well.

    Netanyahu said in an ABC interview that Israel has tried to avoid killing Palestinian civilians by making phone calls, sending text messages and dropping leaflets on their communities. But Hamas doesn’t “give a whit about the Palestinians,” Netanyahu said. “All they want is more and more civilian deaths.”

    The prime minister said his top goal is to restore a sustainable peace, but he then will ask the international community to consider demilitarizing Gaza to rid Hamas of its rockets and shut down the tunnels leading into Israel.

    Kerry spoke Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CNN’s “State of the Union,” ABC’s “This Week,” CBS’ “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday.”


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    16 Comments
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    Mikey
    Mikey
    9 years ago

    And I’m concerned that the Pakistan are using my tax dollars to attack my brothers!

    honestbroker
    honestbroker
    9 years ago

    There were 22 shooting victims in Chicago over the weekend. If our president wants to fix the world, let him begin in his own miserable corner of it.

    9 years ago

    4 dead Americans in Benghazi & he didn’t give a damn about them. Now all of a sudden he cares about Arabs. Guess we know where his loyalties lie.

    TruthIsIt
    TruthIsIt
    9 years ago

    To: Mr. President Obama,
    I have found a way to solve the economic problem. Basically have ½ of the country build tunnels to Israel.
    After-all that’s how Hamas has spent money that it has received from the world instead of having people employed doing legitimate work. Now, after all these tunnels are destroyed Gaza will be in worse shape because, they will not be able to go into the tunnel business (this time the world will be watching).

    SandmanNY
    SandmanNY
    9 years ago

    160,000 people killed in Syria and Gaza is obummer’s priority? And where are the Nigerian schoolgirls? And what of the 150+ families being driven from their ancient hometown of Mosul in Iraq this week as ISIS demands them to leave, pay a 20% tax, convert to Islam or be killed? And just how hard will the US react to Putin’s rocket boys who killed nearly 300 Thursday? This resident of 1600 Penn makes it up as he goes along!

    stamm
    stamm
    9 years ago

    Mr. Obama, go to syria- make a ceasefire over there.

    9 years ago

    Obama for charity is like buckles for taste. If he wants resolution, maybe he should go there himself. Laziest president in my lifetime.

    9 years ago

    Obama is a shoestring democrat. His reality is to confuse the silence of prayers. Shoestrings come undone. Mr. Obama has no pledge to human austerity and he is stepping on all democrats’ reality of better considerations for better diplomacy. Head out of office soon, Mr. Obama. I am a democrat who thinks you have lost the cause.

    9 years ago

    Is he serious??? Mr. President, why do you think Israel built the Iron Dome and rocket shelters in Sdorot?

    9 years ago

    “White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Israel and its military have standards for avoiding the deaths of innocent civilians, Israeli or Palestinian.
    “We would like to see Israel take greater steps to ensure that they’re adhering to those standards,” he said.”

    What’s more can Israel do to prevent Pali deaths?! What other country even does what Israel is doing now, warning in advance in so many ways to evacuate, giving medical treatment to the very terrorists who get injured trying to kill Israeli so,divers and civilians…they don’t deserve any of it and yet Israel bends over backwards being overly humane to these savages who strive to wipe Jews off this earth c’v. What a horrible nerve of Obama, the UN and anyone else who’s anti Semitic enough to say Israel us to doing enough to prevent civilian deaths. Nobody says a word about what’s happening in Syria, Russia, and all the other places where much more deaths have been taking place than in. Gaza. Double standards abound only when it comes to Israel.

    posaikacharon
    posaikacharon
    9 years ago

    can somebody pls explain (pls. leave out the sarcasm) what is wrong with the following strategy….. instead of sending thousands of missiles, send to the un mission a few hundred generators to power the hospitals and schools, and cut off the power to the ENTIRE STRIP! now for every rocket fired, they will need to wait a FULL DAY for electricity to be restored. let us see how they will cope without power for a week or more!!!!!!!!

    BuckyinWisconsin
    BuckyinWisconsin
    9 years ago

    He is a Muslim at heart, I am firmly convinced. All his comment point to it…he has yet to go against the Muslim party line.