As violence in the Gaza Strip continues, President Obama remarks on the Israeli-Hamas conflict while in Thailand. He said, "[T]here is no country on earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders. So we are fully supportive of Israel's right to defend itself from missiles landing on people's homes."
Noting that Israel increased its response after what the NY Times described as "persistent Palestinian rocket fire," Obama said, "Let's understand what the precipitating event here was that's causing the current crisis, and that was an ever-escalating number of missiles that were landing not just in Israeli territory but in areas that are populated."
The death toll in Gaza is now at 67, according to BBC, and Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system has reportedly intercepted missiles aimed at Tel Aviv.
The AP reports, "An Israeli envoy held talks with Egyptian officials Sunday on a ceasefire":
Egypt has been leading international efforts to broker a truce since Israel launched its offensive five days earlier aimed at stopping Gaza rocket attacks. But Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers remain far apart on any terms.
Hamas is linking a truce deal to a complete lifting of the border blockade on Gaza imposed since Islamists seized the territory by force. Hamas also seeks Israeli guarantees to halt targeted killings of its leaders and military commanders. Israeli officials reject such demands. They say they are not interested in a "timeout," and want firm guarantees that the rocket fire will finally end. Past ceasefires have been short lived.
