Biden Responds to Recent Israeli-Palestinian Escalation

US President Joe Biden has stated that the United States supports Israel's right to defend itself against attacks originating from Gaza. This was reported by TASS news agency, referencing a written statement released by the White House.

“I have long and firmly supported Israel’s right to secure its own safety, including the right to defend against attacks,” said Biden in his statement. The US President also added that in recent days, Israel has been defending its people against rocket attacks from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group, and the US is proud to have provided support for Israel's Iron Dome air defense system, which has managed to intercept over one hundred rockets and save countless lives.

It is worth noting that on August 5, the Israeli army launched Operation Dawn in the Gaza Strip against the Islamic Jihad group. The Israel Defense Forces have struck targets located in the Gaza Strip. Reports also indicated the deaths of senior commanders of the Islamic Jihad, Taysir al-Jabari and Khaled Mansour.

Since the beginning of the escalation, 580 rockets have been fired from Gaza towards Israel, an IDF representative stated during a briefing. “There could be even more. Of those, 450 have struck Israeli territory, with 20 percent being unsuccessful launches,” he said. It has been noted that the proportion of intercepted rockets by the Iron Dome air defense system is approximately 97 percent.