'It's important to remember that Hamas is a terrorist group,' Jen Psaki says

US Secretary for Israel-Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr has landed in Israel on Friday, as part of Washington's efforts to deescalate the most intense bout of fighting between Gaza-based Islamist terrorists and the Jewish state since 2014.

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Top US officials, meanwhile, have affirmed their support for Israel's military operation against Gazan militants who have rained downed over 2,000 rockets on southern and central Israel since Monday. 

"Israel has the right to self-defense," Press Secretary Jen Psaki told journalists, stressing that the US was focusing on de-escalation. "It's important to remember that Hamas is a terrorist group. They don't represent the views, the families and the Palestinian people who are suffering. There's no excuse for the rockets."