国际英语新闻:U.S. condemns Hamas attack after Gaza ceasefire unravels

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday "unequivocally" condemned the attack by Palestinian militants which killed two Israeli soldiers and led to the apparent abduction of another.

At a press conference at the White House, Obama said the attack came "almost minutes after a ceasefire had been announced" and drew UN condemnation as well. He called on Hamas militants to release the Israeli soldier.

"If they are serious about trying to resolve this situation, that soldier needs to be unconditionally released as soon as possible," Obama said.

The president said it would be difficult to establish a new ceasefire in Gaza, but the U.S. will continue to try.

"I think it's going to be very hard to put a ceasefire back together again if Israel and the international community can't feel confident that Hamas can follow through on a cease-fire commitment," Obama said.

In a statement released earlier Friday, U.S. Secretary of State called the attack an "outrageous violation" of the ceasefire negotiated over the past several days, and of the assurances given to the United States and the United Nations.

After the horrific loss of life in this attack and its aftermath, it would be a tragedy if this outrageous attack leads to more suffering and loss of life on both sides of this conflict, Kerry said.

Kerry urged militants of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, to "immediately and unconditionally" release the missing Israeli soldier. He also called on those with influence over Hamas to reinforce this message.

"The international community must now redouble its efforts to end the tunnel and rocket attacks by Hamas terrorists on Israel and the suffering and loss of civilian life," Kerry said.

The top U.S. diplomat said he had been in close touch with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, UN Special Coordinator Robert Serry and other regional partners.

On Thursday, Kerry and UN chief Ban Ki-moon announced the " unconditional humanitarian ceasefire" deal in Gaza, which was set to commence at 8 a.m. local time on Friday and would last for 72 hours unless extended.

The newly reached truce collapsed soon after it came into effect on Friday morning, with Israel resuming full operations in the Gaza Strip following an attack that reportedly left two soldiers dead and another abducted.

Earlier Friday, Ban also condemned "in the strongest terms" the Hamas violation of the truce, urging Israelis and Palestinians to exercise maximum restraint and return to the ceasefire.