Ron Dermer, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, blasted State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki for calling out Israel for defending themselves and also reported that destruction of the Hamas built tunnels from Gaza to Israel is almost complete.
Psaki issued a statement Sunday rebuking Israel for defending themselves. "The United States is appalled by today’s disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school in Rafah sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons….The suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilian lives," Psaki said in her written statement.
Her statement is in reference to a shelling incident by the Israelis that happened near a UN school. The shelling was responsible for the death of at least 10 Palestinians in Gaza.
"It’s not often you hear an official calling an Israeli reaction disgraceful," CNN host Blitzer commented to Dermer.
Dermer responded, "Well, it was a rush to judgment. You just don’t know all the facts. This has happened a number of times where people say certain things about Israel and the action without actually knowing the facts, and this is an example of one of those cases. In the same statement, it was said that we [Israel] shelled that facility. Obviously, we didn’t shell the facility- we didn’t actually hit the facility at all…"
He continued, "There have been a number of statements made. I think they’re very unfortunate. She [Psaki] does not know all the facts, and when she knows all the facts, maybe she’ll make a different statement."
Asked by Blitzer if the destruction of the tunnels from Gaza to Israel was complete, Dermer said "I understand it’s almost completed. It’s a question of hours, not days."