White House national security spokesman John Kirby deemed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar the “biggest obstacle” to reaching a ceasefire agreement in recent weeks.
Kirby appeared on “Fox News Sunday” to respond to a Wall Street Journal report that U.S. officials, who have been hoping for months for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement, don't expect Israel and Hamas to reach one before the end of Biden's term. The report quoted an administration official as saying Hamas has made demands and “won't say 'yes' even after the U.S. and Israel have accepted them.”
“It's clear to us that Mr. Sinwal remains a significant obstacle to reaching an agreement, and it's true that he hasn't done anything in recent weeks to indicate that he's willing to move forward with this in good faith. He's without a doubt the biggest obstacle,” Kirby said Sunday. “It's going to be difficult to get them to say yes to something that he's already said he wants to do, so it's going to be very difficult.”
“But as the president said the other day, it's all unreal until all of a sudden it's not unreal. And we'll continue to work for this,” Kirby added. “And the idea that we're going to throw up our hands and give up and say, 'Well, it's not going to happen by the end of my term,' is certainly not the president's position. It's not Jake Sullivan's or Tony Blinken's position. We still believe there's a chance we can move this forward, and we'll continue to work. It's going to take work to bring the hostages home, and we're not going to give up on that.”
Israel announces retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza
National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby spoke at a regular press briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, September 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Senator)
Kirby reiterated the administration's position that Israel has the right to defend itself, but acknowledged that some of the criticism of Israel's handling of the conflict has also come from the Biden administration.
“They absolutely have the right to defend themselves, and we continue to provide them with the tools and the capabilities to do so, but how they do it matters,” Kirby said. “President Biden has said that, and Vice President Harris has said that to her Israeli colleagues. They need to do it as precisely and carefully as possible to avoid damage to civilian infrastructure and, more importantly, to civilian lives. So that's very important to us.”
“Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream also asked Kirby to comment on the death of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday in the southern outskirts of Beirut.
Bream pointed to criticism from Trump administration Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who suggested that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed concern about the escalation to Israeli authorities after the attack because he was not grateful enough to Israel for taking out the man responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing.
A poster featuring Hamas' new political leader, Yahya Sinwar, is displayed in Tehran, Iran, on August 13, 2024. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hezbollah identifies second top commander killed in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon
“No one is shedding a tear over Akil's death, including Secretary Austin. Akil had American blood on his hands. I think the world is better off that he's no longer with us. But I don't want to see all-out war. Again, I don't think that's in the best interests of the Israeli people,” Kirby said.
Akil was one of the Lebanon-based terrorist group's most senior military officials, led the group's elite unit and had been on Washington's most wanted list for years.
Friday's attack came as Hezbollah was still reeling from a strike earlier last week that targeted its communications equipment, resulting in the simultaneous explosion of thousands of pagers. A Hezbollah official said the attack killed 12 people, mostly Hezbollah members, and wounded thousands. Israel is believed to have been behind the attack but has not claimed responsibility.
Israeli security and rescue forces work at the site of a rocket strike fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Bialik, northern Israel, Sunday, September 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Gil Nechushtan)
Hezbollah has been firing rockets at Israel since October 2023, and Kirby said the U.S. has been “engaged in intensive diplomatic activity here in recent months to prevent an escalation of the conflict along the Blue Line with Lebanon.”
“We still believe we should continue to use diplomatic efforts to try to stop the escalation and try to stabilize the situation,” Kirby said.
Kirby also defended the Biden administration's response to Iran, despite criticism from Republicans.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“Iran is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world,” Kirby said, “and that's partially, no, mostly due to the actions of President Biden. There are 600 sanctions, 60 sanctions regimes under this administration alone. So the argument that somehow we turned a blind eye and gave them cash doesn't hold up.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
