TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th May, 2021) Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with a US delegation led by a senior Department of State official on Sunday to discuss the armed confrontation with the Gaza Strip.
"This morning, Defense Minister Benny Gantz held a meeting with a US delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israel and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr. The minister asked the delegation to convey to [US] President [Joe] Biden his deep appreciation for America's commitment to Israel's right and duty of self-defense," Gantz' office said.
The defense minister said, as quoted in the press release, that the goal of Israel's ongoing military campaign was to "restore long-term calm on Israeli borders and the safety of its citizens."
Tensions flared up on the border of Israel and the Palestinian enclave in the evening of May 10. As of Sunday morning, some 2,900 rockets have been launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel, with 1,150 of them intercepted, while the Israeli military targeted hundreds of rockets at what it claimed were Hamas infrastructure buildings across the border.
Since the start of the hostilities, 181 Palestinians, including 52 children, were killed and over 1,200 others were injured, while Israel reported 10 people killed and 50 others seriously injured.
