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US Says Hamas Solely to Blame for Resumption of Gaza Hostilities

Dorothy Shea, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, addresses a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Dorothy Shea, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, addresses a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Says Hamas Solely to Blame for Resumption of Gaza Hostilities

Dorothy Shea, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, addresses a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Dorothy Shea, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, addresses a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, March 18, 2025. (Reuters)

Responsibility for the resumption of hostilities in Gaza lies solely with Hamas, and the United States supports Israel in its next steps, the acting US ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Ambassador Dorothy Shea made the statement to a United Nations Security Council briefing after Palestinian health authorities said Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza and killed more than 400 people, ending weeks of relative calm after talks to secure a permanent ceasefire stalled.

"The blame for the resumption of hostilities lies solely with Hamas," Shea said, charging that the group had refused every proposal and deadline to extend the ceasefire and allow time to negotiate a framework for a permanent ceasefire.

Shea said US President Donald Trump had made clear that Hamas must release the hostages it is holding immediately or pay a high price.

"We support Israel in its next steps," she said, while rejecting allegations that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were conducting indiscriminate attacks.

"The IDF is striking Hamas positions," she said. "It is well known that Hamas continues to use civilian infrastructure as launching pads, and the United States condemns this practice as should others."

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US Calls on Lebanese Govt to Take Action against Armed Groups

Rescue and firefighter teams work on the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday March 28, 2025.(AP)
Rescue and firefighter teams work on the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday March 28, 2025.(AP)
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US Calls on Lebanese Govt to Take Action against Armed Groups

Rescue and firefighter teams work on the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday March 28, 2025.(AP)
Rescue and firefighter teams work on the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday March 28, 2025.(AP)

The US State Department said on Friday Israel was defending itself from rocket attacks that came from Lebanon and that it was incumbent upon the Lebanese government to disarm militant groups such as Hezbollah.
The comment from a State Department spokesperson came in a press briefing when asked about Israel conducting its first strike on Beirut's southern suburbs - a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh - since a shaky ceasefire deal was struck in November.
Israel's airstrike came after a rocket launch from Lebanon in the most serious test of the ceasefire.
The strike targeted a building in Dahiyeh that Israel said was a drone storage facility belonging to the Iranian-backed Shiite group.
"Israel is defending its people and interests by responding to rocket attacks from terrorists in Lebanon," the State Department spokesperson said.
"As part of the cessation of hostilities agreement, the government of Lebanon is responsible for disarming Hezbollah and we expect the Lebanese Armed Forces to disarm these terrorists to prevent further hostilities."
No group has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire from Lebanon. The Lebanese army said it was able to locate the launch site of Friday's rocket attacks and began an investigation.
Israel's war in Lebanon last year displaced more than 1.3 million people, destroyed much of the country's south and eliminated Hezbollah's top leadership.
Israel is separately engaged in a military assault on Gaza that has killed over 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while also triggering accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies. Nearly Gaza's entire 2.3 million population has been internally displaced and the enclave faces a hunger crisis.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas fighters attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.