Washington: The United States today said it was worried about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but placed blame for the suffering squarely on the shoulders of Hamas, repeating its confidence in Israeli efforts to spare civilians.

"It is a humanitarian crisis. It's a war zone. And war zones are very difficult," said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.

"We have expressed our deep concerns about the situation with innocent lives being lost," he said. "But, again, this is a problem, unfortunately, that was brought on by Hamas.

Stanzel said Hamas refused to extend a ceasefire and "began lobbing more and more rockets into Israel. And that is a situation that the Israeli government, nor any government would stand for."

He said the United States was "very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza."

"Israel has indicated that they too are concerned and they are taking every step that they can to prevent the loss of innocent life," he said.

But, he said, the situation "will not improve until Hamas stops lobbing rockets into Israel."

Source : PTI