Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes as it seen from Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, December 1, 2023. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
‘(Israel has) relied less on air power, structured their ground operations in such a way, to try to be more targeted and precise.’
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
US National Security spokesman John Kirby said in an interview with Channel 12 that Israel is relying less on air power and is making more targeted attacks against Hamas on the ground.
In the interview, Kirby was asked about disagreements between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, particularly the latter’s concern about the number of civilian casualties in Gaza.
Kirby said, “We obviously want to see a reduction in civilian casualties, we want to see more humanitarian assistance get in.”
“They’ve relied less on air power, structured their ground operations in such a way, to try to be more targeted and precise,” he added.
“We want there to be care and precision in the way these operations are being conducted.”
Commenting on the perception that Israel isn’t heeding the advice of the Biden Administration, Kirby said, “I get this all the time that they’re ignoring us, that they’re not listening to us.”
He added, “Frankly, the facts just don’t bear that out.”
Kirby continued, “Netanyahu and Biden have known each other a long, long time. And they didn’t always agree on everything. ”
He clarified, “I don’t think anybody should expect that they’re going to agree on everything going forward. But because they have the kind of relationship where they can be frank and honest.”
The interview came shortly after the news that Hamas rejected the hostage deal negotiated in Paris between the US, Israel, Qatar, and Egypt.
The deal would have required Israel to pause its military operations in Gaza for two months, increase humanitarian aid, and release thousands of security prisoners in exchange for the return of all the hostages in multiple phases.
When asked about the prospects for a viable agreement for the release of the remaining hostages, Kirby responded, “There’s still a lot of work to be done, but we believe we’ve made some progress here…We are cautiously optimistic.”
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