The White House on Monday further sidestepped questions on whether that it was asking Israel to delay its expected ground invasion after reports suggested it was doing so in the hopes that more hostages would be released.
National security spokesperson John Kirby responded to questions on the matter by saying that it would be inappropriate for the U.S. to preview Israel’s operations in Gaza in the wake of attacks launched by the militant group Hamas.
“It’s our view that the Israeli Defense Forces… need to decide for themselves how they’re going to conduct operations. We’re not in the business of dictating terms to them and we’re certainly not going to be in the business here from the White House of previewing any future operations one way or another. That would be inappropriate,” Kirby said.
Kirby stressed that the Biden administration has been in constant contact with Israel since the Hamas attacks, including by asking the Israelis if they have thought through the unintended consequences of a ground operation.
“We have since the beginning of the conflict, in the early hours, maintained a level of communication with our Israeli counterparts to ascertain their intensions, their strategy, their aims, to see what their answers are to the kinds of tough questions that any military ought to be asking before you launch any kind of a major operation,” he said.
He maintained the Biden administration’s stance that Israelis have a right to go after Hamas after more than 1,400 Israelis were killed in a series of attacks across Israel on Oct. 7.
“We’re not dictating military terms to the Israeli defense forces. They have a right and a responsibility to go after these terrorists,” Kirby said. “And they certainly are going to do it in a way that they believe is appropriate to the threat. We’re definitely going to support them in terms of providing the capabilities for them to continue to prosecute Hamas terrorists.”
Israel launched a retaliatory military attack on the Gaza Strip, which has been bombarded by air strikes with no sign of letting up. Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops to prepare to see Gaza “from the inside” Thursday. While the Israeli military has signaled an invasion for days, they have not given a timetable for such an operation.
Kirby said that he wouldn’t “sit here and assume that there is going to be some sort of a ground invasion” but that humanitarian assistance like getting food, water, and medicine into Gaza is a priority. He also reiterated a notion that other officials have expressed that not enough aid has been let through. Less than three dozen truck full of aid made it into Gaza over the weekend, where officials have warned people are running dangerously low of fuel, water, food and medical supplies.
“We have been crystal clear with our partners in the region, including Israel, that we want to see humanitarian assistance flow. There has been no change to our posture of that, at all,” he said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday dodged a question over if the U.S. is encouraging a delay on a potential ground operation until more hostages are released. Two American hostages were released last week and Kirby said on Monday that a handful more are still being detained, while over 10 Americans are unaccounted for.
Biden visited Israeli last week and later defected when asked by reporters if he was encouraging Israelis to delay an invasion, responding with “I’m talking to the Israelis.”