The U.S. State Department condemned Gaza militants' repeated rocket attacks on Israel Monday as an "unacceptable escalation."
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the U.S. condemned "in strongest terms" the salvos launched into the Jewish state by Gaza terrorist groups.
He added that Washington recognized Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens, but would not delve into the specifics on Israel's retaliatory strikes.
Price said that there had been multiple outreach efforts to both Israel and Palestinians on the prospect of de-escalation.
He reiterated the U.S. support for the two-state solution as the optimal scenario for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but said that the prospect of progress towards long-term peace seemed distant under the current conditions.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that "rocket attacks on Israel should stop now" and that Israel and the Palestinians "need to take steps to de-escalate the situation."
Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also commented on the latest escalation between Israel and Gaza terrorist factions, as well as clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians in Jerusalem.
She voiced a "serious concern" on these matters, urging restraint from both Israel and the Palestinians.
Psaki also said U.S. President Joe Biden was closely monitoring the situation in Israel.
European Union Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret said he was "extremely concerned" by the violence in East Jerusalem, condemning the rocket fire on Israel from the Gaza Strip as "totally unacceptable."
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that the United Kingdom condemned the rocket launches at Jerusalem and multiple other locations within Israel.
"The ongoing violence in Jerusalem and Gaza must stop. We need an immediate de-escalation on all sides, and end to targeting of civilian populations", Raab said.