Earnest: Israel Shelling UN Facility ‘Totally Unacceptable & Totally Indefensible’

Earnest: Shelling of U.N. Facility in Gaza by Israelis ‘Totally Unacceptable and Totally Indefensible’ (RealClearPolitics)

QUESTION: "So while we don't have a ceasefire, we heard a number of people from the administration that Israel could do more. So how could they do more at this point exactly?"
EARNEST: "Well, we have steadfastly defended the right of the Israeli government and Israeli military leaders to take the actions that they feel are necessary to protect their people and to defend their country. The steps that they have taken have also been taken with the standards that they put in place to protect the lives of innocent civilians. That stands in pretty stark contrast to the approach adopted by Hamas, that is actually using their military might to target innocent Israeli civilians. What we have said is that Israel, clearly, based on published reports about the significant tragic loss of life experienced by innocent Palestinian civilians, is that the Israeli military can and should do more to protect the lives of those innocent civilians. So there is a difference in approach between what Hamas is perpetrating on the Israeli people and what Israel is doing to defend their country. But the shelling of a U.N. facility that is housing innocent civilians who are fleeing violence is totally unacceptable and totally indefensible, and it is clear that we need our allies in Israel to do more to live up to the high standards of that they have set for themselves."