WASHINGTON – The United States on Sunday sharpened its criticism of Hamas and urged the militant Palestinian group to accept a cease-fire agreement that would halt nearly two weeks of fighting with Israel.
The White House said Secretary of State John Kerry would go soon to Egypt to press for a cease-fire to hostilities that have killed at least 435 Palestinians and 20 Israelis.
The Obama administration toned down its earlier rebuke of Israel for attacks on the Gaza Strip that have killed civilians, including children, although both President Barack Obama and Kerry expressed concern about the rising death toll.
“It’s ugly. War is ugly, and bad things are going to happen,” Kerry told ABC’s “This Week.” But, he said, Hamas needs “to recognize their own responsibility.”
Obama and Kerry said Israel has a right to defend itself against frequent rocket attacks by Hamas from the Gaza Strip. Kerry accused Hamas of attempting to sedate and kidnap Israelis through a network of tunnels that militants have used to stage cross-border raids.
He said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Hamas must “step up and show a level of reasonableness, and they need to accept the offer of a cease-fire.”
Then, Kerry said, “we will certainly discuss all of the issues relevant to the underlying crisis.”
Obama, in a telephone call Sunday, told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Kerry would be coming to the Mideast and condemned Hamas’ attacks, according to a White House statement.
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.
