The United States did not back Israel’s recent airstrikes in Syria, the State Department said Thursday, stressing that Washington expressed its displeasure and moved swiftly to help de-escalate tensions.
On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes targeted sites in Damascus and struck government forces in southern Syria, saying the operations aimed to protect the Druze community — a small but politically significant minority with populations in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
"Regarding Israel's intervention and activity ... the United States did not support recent Israeli strikes," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters at a regular news briefing.
"We are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between the two sovereign states."
Bruce declined to say whether Washington supports Israel carrying out such military operations when it deems necessary.
"I won't speak to future conversations or past ones. What we're dealing with now is this particular episode, what was required, and I think we've been very clear about our displeasure, certainly that the President has, and we've worked very quickly to have it stopped," she said.
She added that the United States condemns violence in Syria and said Washington was actively engaging all constituencies in Syria to navigate toward calm and continued discussions on integration and called on the Syrian government to lead the path forward.
