Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the U.S. does not see the Israeli strike over the weekend targeting a military official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement as a violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“Israel didn’t surrender its right to self-defense. Obviously, the ceasefire is based on obligations on both sides. By the way, we’d also like to see Hamas speed up the return of hostage bodies,” Mr. Rubio said on Air Force One with President Trump en route to Asia.
“We still have 13 hostages, two Americans included, but we don’t view that as a violation of the ceasefire.”
He added, “They have the right. There’s an imminent threat to Israel, and all the mediators agree with that.”
The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday they deployed a drone strike in central Gaza, targeting an operative from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group who the IDF said was planning a forthcoming attack against its troops.
Islamic Jihad denied it was planning an attack.
One person was reportedly killed and others were injured during the assault.
The IDF said they carried out subsequent airstrikes in Gaza Monday morning against a group of Palestinian terror operatives who crossed the yellow line delineating the military’s pullback in the Gaza Strip.
Senior White House officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, visited Israel last week to ensure the Gaza ceasefire stayed in place, following the deadly Hamas attack on IDF troops and its failure to hand over all the bodies of Israeli hostages.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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