US Senate supports Israel on Gaza

The US House joins the Senate offering staunch support to Israel in its14 days of assault on Gaza, that has killed 800 Palestinians.

"Today, we reaffirm that Israel, like any nation, has a right to self-defense when under attack," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday.

Also on Thursday, the US Senate said that Israel had an "inalienable right' to defend itself from attacks by Hamas.

"The rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza, which were increasing in frequency and range constituted an unacceptable security threat to which Israel had a responsibility to respond," she said, pointing to Israeli claims that it attacked Gaza in response to Hamas' rocket attacks on Israel.

Since Israel's military campaign on the impoverished strip started two-weeks ago, at least 800 Palestinians have been killed. The dead include at least 230 children and 92 women. Another 3,300 have also been wounded due to Israel's heavy military offensive and a deadly siege on the strip that has caused a severe lack of basic supplies such as food, sanitary water, medicine and fuel.

Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed in combat or rocket attacks into Israel.

Pelosi backed the Bush administration position that a Friday UN ceasefire should address the root causes of the conflict to forge a peace that is 'durable and sustainable.'

The UN Security Council almost unanimously approved on Thursday a resolution for an 'immediate' and 'durable' ceasefire followed by the 'full withdrawal' of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Fourteen out of the Council's 15 members voted for the resolution which also demands "the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment." The US abstained from voting on the ceasefire resolution.

Prime minister Ehud Olmert rejected the UN resolution as impractical, saying it would not be respected by Palestinian resistance forces such as Hamas--and as Tel Aviv has made abundantly clear, it has no intentions of abiding by Resolution 1860.