White House responds to report it withholding vital intel on Hamas from Israel

The secret information reportedly details where Hamas leaders can be found in the Gaza Strip and the locations of additional terror tunnels.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Biden administration denied it was offering to share intel on the whereabouts of Hamas leaders with Israel if Jerusalem avoids a full ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Although the White House pushed back Monday on reports that it is offering “sensitive information” if Israel decides to scrap the Rafah campaign, The Washington Post and the Times of Israel report that such an offer was made, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The secret information reportedly details where Hamas leaders can be found in the Gaza Strip and the locations of additional terror tunnels.

Biden administration’s stick-and-carrot tactic of holding up Israeli military aid if the IDF operates in Rafah and providing a “reward” of sensitive intel on the location of key Hamas leaders has been greeted with outrage.

However, the White House denies withholding crucial information from Israel in its battle to eliminate Hamas.

A National Security Council spokesperson told Fox News that the U.S. continues to provide crucial information to Israel.

“[T]hat work continues on an ongoing basis. We’re not holding anything back,” the official said.

“We believe [Hamas chief Yahya] Sinwar should and indeed must be held accountable for the horrors of the October 7th attack,” they continued.

Former Trump National Security Council official Victoria Coates told Fox News that “Intelligence sharing is the bedrock of our security partnership with Israel.”

She added, “It’s unique and extremely sophisticated, and if one partner is not fulfilling their obligations, it calls the whole thing into question.’

“So, if the administration has information on Hamas leadership, which… still holds eight Americans — five alive and three dead in Gaza — and isn’t sharing that with the Israelis and hasn’t shared it with the Israelis, this is deeply troubling.”

Coates explained that if it’s true that the Biden administration is making intelligence sharing conditional on Israel’s pulling back IDF troops from Rafah, it would be evident that the administration is playing a “political game” with Israel’s security.