The United States said on Thursday Israel has right to strike against attacks from Islamic militants but should avoid harming civilians in the counterattack.
"Certainly they have every right to act in their self-defense and it is well documented the Kassam rocket attacks have been coming out of Gaza and are unabated at this point," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
"In exercising their right to self-defense, we encourage Israel, as we do with our own armed forces -- to make every effort to avoid any harm to civilians."
The spokesman made the remarks after Israel Air Force attacks have killed at least 25 Palestinians since Tuesday and militants in Gaza have fired more than 70 rockets at the western Negev, including at least 15 on Thursday.
Israel's security forces have killed roughly 1,000 Palestinian militants in various operations in Gaza in the past two years, Israel Security Agency chief Yuval Diskin was quoted by daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth as saying on Sunday.
Source: Xinhua
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