U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday that any ceasefire to end the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip must ensure militants of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) cannot continue firing rockets at Israel.
"I understand Israel's desire to protect itself and that the situation now taking place in Gaza was caused by Hamas," Bush told reporters Monday morning in the white House.
"The United States is concerned about the humanitarian crisis. ..I know people are saying, 'Let's have a ceasefire.' And those are noble ambitions," said Bush, but adding "any ceasefire must have the conditions in it so that Hamas does not use Gaza as a place from which to launch rockets."
More than 530 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's military operation targeted at Hamas in the Gaza Strip was launched on December 27.. The Israeli government said the operation was aimed at stopping Hamas rocket attacks across the border into southern Israel.
Echoing Bush's comment, the U.S. State Department on Monday specified that a sustainable, durable and non-time-limited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip should include three elements.
"There would be an end to the rocket attacks; that you would have the opening of crossings into and out of Gaza; and also the issues of the tunnels would be addressed," said spokesman Sean McCormack, adding that State Secretary Condoleezza Rice is trying to "get the international system and various actors in the international system to coalesce around those three elements."
The tunnels mentioned by the spokesman were located across the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. They have been used mainly to smuggle weapons by Hamas from Egypt and other countries. Some of them have been destroyed in the latest Israeli military operation.
The United States is working toward the ceasefire "in which the Palestinian people can live better lives and the Israeli people can also live better lives and not fear rocket being launched from the Gaza Strip," McCormack said.
Earlier on Monday, the White House called on Israel to avoid causing civilian casualties during the military operation.
"We urge them to be very cautious when it comes to civilian casualties. We want to keep those to an absolute minimum," said spokeswoman Dana Perino at the daily press briefing, adding "I know that Israel has said that they are trying to take care to make sure that they are protected. But, in addition to that, we are also very concerned about the humanitarian situation."
Source:Xinhua
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