Fox News' Peter Doocy questions John Kirby on 'humanitarian pauses' and what it means for Israel during war
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Fox News' White House correspondent Peter Doocy went on to question John Kirby on the Biden administration's call for humanitarian pauses from attacks on the Gaza Strip.
There has been much division over Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas and others demanding a ceasefire in Gaza to avoid the killing of even more Palestinians who have been stuck there for the entirety of the war so far.
Kirby clarified that the pause won't have the same conditions as a ceasefire and will only allow for aid to reach the area while also providing a window for trapped Americans to evacuate Gaza.
John Kirby assures that Israel is being provided security assistance
Doocy opened a heated discussion with the National Security spokesperson Kirby as he addressed the humanitarian pauses.
"As you push the Israelis for humanitarian pauses, are they [Israelis] just supposed to sit back and let Hamas attack them and attack them and attack them and not fight back?"
To this, Kirby responded, "We have been crystal clear that Israel has a right to defend themselves."
Doocy then asked if that statement meant Israel could continue with their military attacks on Gaza. This seemed to provoke a reaction out of Kirby.
"My goodness, Peter, we’re giving them security assistance almost every day. But do we advocate pauses by both sides here? Temporary, localized, to be able to get Americans out? To be able to get aid in? You betcha we do. That doesn’t mean that we’re calling for a general ceasefire. Does it?"
He continued to clarify, "There’s a big difference here. And we understand that, as I said earlier, humanitarian pauses have to be negotiated and you have to have a credible basis for doing it in a temporary, localized way."
The spokesman then said that the administration would be attacked if they chose to not go along with this as well.
"I would also expect that we would get a lot of criticism from you and from your network and others if we just eschewed the whole idea of some sort of temporary pause so that people couldn’t get out. I mean, we’re doing exactly what you should be doing to try to look after these folks."
John Kirby clarifies that humanitarian pause won't be a favor to Hamas
Kirby was then asked if this pause was going to in any way act out as an advantage for Hamas to advance their attacks on Israel. Kirby did not believe so.
"A temporary pause that’s localized that would allow us to get aid in and to get our people out is a good thing for the people of Gaza. It’s a good thing for the Americans that are being held hostage. And it’s not going to stop Israel from defending itself. Because the security assistance we’re providing continues to flow."
"A temporary pause doesn’t mean a general ceasefire when the war is over. It means a pause, only temporary for a specific purpose," the National Security spox said.
More than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed after the Israeli military operation opened in the Gaza Strip. Moreover, the Gazans have been facing multiple power blackouts, food and water shortages, and out-of-fuel hospitals alongside the consistent airstrikes.