CSNbbs

Quote: The U.S.-Israel relationship “remains strong and unchanged” despite frustration at the White House following a missile strike on a United Nations shelter in Gaza, the White House said Monday.

The attack on a U.N. school in Rafah over the weekend earned strong condemnation from administration officials, with senior adviser Valerie Jarrett calling the shelling “indefensible” and State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki labeling it “disgraceful.”

The White House echoed those concerns, saying the U.S. believed that “the suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians.”

And press secretary Josh Earnest urged the “Israeli military to live up to their own standards when it comes to protecting the lives of innocent civilians.”

But the White House spokesman sought to downplay suggestions of a growing rift between Israel and the U.S.

Worries over such a split were been deepened by reports that that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admonished State Department officials “not to ever second-guess me again” after militants violated a cease-fire agreement.

“Israel continues to be one of this country’s strongest allies, and you saw that sentiment reciprocated in the remarks delivered by Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu over the weekend, where he praised the United States for the level of support that the United States is providing to our ally,” Earnest said.