The White House condemned the deadly shelling by Israel of a U.N.-designated girls’ elementary school in Gaza as the Pentagon confirmed it recently restocked Israel’s ammunition supplies.
The attack killed 16 Palestinians on Wednesday. Some 3,300 civilians had taken shelter at the school after Israel told them to evacuate their homes. After Israel took responsibility for the shelling, President Obama’s press secretary Thursday criticized the attack as “totally unacceptable” and “totally indefensible.” He added: “It is clear that we need our allies in Israel to do more to live up to the high standards they have set themselves.”
The spokeswoman for the White House’s National Security Council initially had said there were conflicting reports about who was responsible for the attack. She did not specify the nature of the confusion, however. On Thursday The Guardian reported:
US officials had initially declined to apportion blame for the shelling, even though the UN said all of the evidence pointed to Israel. On Thursday, after Israel conceded it was operating in the area and said it was possible that “stray Israeli fire” hit the school and killed 16 Palestinians, the White House shifted its stance.