US stands by Israel amid escalations, insists official

The United States stands by Israel’s right to defend itself, the American ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, announced yesterday.

“Concerned about the continuing rocket launches today,” Nides said on Twitter, referring to recent rockets that were fired from the besieged Gaza Strip.

The US envoy added that his country was working to achieve a “quick de-escalation.”

Nides was reported to have recently informed the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that he was “intending to depart from his post this summer” after nearly two years stationed in occupied Jerusalem.

The Gaza Strip has been, for the third day in a row, witnessing an Israeli aggression, which has resulted in the killing of five leaders of the Islamic Jihad movement and 31 Palestinians. It also left more than 76 civilians wounded, and damaged hundreds of buildings and facilities.

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