State Department Press Corps: Below is a readout of Secretary Kerry’s conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

On Thursday afternoon the Secretary spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who described the terrorist attack Thursday morning near Kibbutz Sufa, and the imminent threat to Israeli civilians posed by Hamas tunnels from the Gaza Strip.

The Prime Minister explained his decision to launch an operation to target the threat of further terrorist infiltration through tunnels into Israel. The Secretary reaffirmed our strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorist threats emanating from tunnels into Israel and expressed our view that this should be a precise operation to target tunnels, as described in a statement from the Israeli Defense Forces.

The Secretary emphasized the need to avoid further escalation and to restore the 2012 cease-fire as soon as possible, reinforced our continuing commitment to the Egyptian initiative as the way to do so, and underscored the importance of Hamas accepting this plan as soon as possible.

The Secretary also reiterated our concern about the safety and security of civilians on both sides and the importance of doing everything possible to prevent civilian casualties.

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