The Biden administration has had a lot of failures during its nearly three years in office.
But you have to give them credit for mostly getting the messaging right when it comes to Israel.
On Thursday, White House spokesman John Kirby was asked about President Joe Biden raising doubts about the number of deaths being released by the so-called Palestinian Health Ministry — also known as Hamas — and his statement that innocent civilians will die in the war and that it is the price of war.
Kirby was asked if that sentiment was “insensitive’ and whether Biden would apologize for those comments.
You wouldn’t expect a spokesperson for the president to respond with something like, “You’re right. My boss was incredibly offensive, and he should apologize.”
Still, Kirby’s answer was surprising for how strong it was in rejecting the premise of the question in light of the mounting pressure for a cease-fire.
“No. What’s harsh is the way Hamas is using people as human shields. What’s harsh is taking a couple of hundred hostages and leaving families anxious, waiting, and worrying to figure out where their loved ones are,” he began.
Watch the video below:
OMG I can't believe I'm saying this, but….go John Kirby?
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 26, 2023
TV Globo’s @RKrahenbuhl: “So, besides saying that he doesn't have confidence in these numbers, the President went further to say that innocents will die and that this is the price of the war. You also said that.”
Kirby:… pic.twitter.com/PhB5SxEHTe
Kirby went on:
“What’s harsh, is dropping in on a music festival and slaughtering a bunch of young people just trying to enjoy an afternoon. I could go on and on. That’s what’s harsh. That is what’s harsh and being honest about the fact that there have been civilian casualties and that there likely will be more is being honest, because that’s what war is. It’s brutal. It’s ugly. It’s messy. I’ve said that before, the president also said that yesterday. Doesn’t mean we have to like it.”
Finally, he said, “And it doesn’t mean that we’re dismissing any one of those casualties. Each and every one is a tragedy in its own right… It would be helpful if Hamas would let [Gazans] leave.”
“We know that there are thousands waiting to leave Gaza writ large and Hamas is preventing them from doing it. That is what is harsh,” he added.
Such comments, to some, may come off as cold-hearted. But Hamas started this when it massacred over 1,400 people in Israel and took hundreds more hostage.
Israel has urged people to leave, but Hamas has told them to stay in their homes and not leave — ensuring there will be more civilian casualties. There are also reports it is preventing them from leaving.
While Hamas hides underground in its extensive system of tunnels, Palestinians are suffering under their governance and lack of attention to economic issues.
NBC News notes 80% of Gaza’s population lives in poverty. Meanwhile, it is estimated Hamas spends an estimated $100 million to $350 million annually on its terrorism efforts, with a great deal of those funds coming from international aid efforts.
It is clear Hamas does not care about the Palestinians it claims to be fighting for. If it did, it would not spend hundreds of millions of dollars to further its terrorism while forcing civilians to live in poverty. It would not have launched an unprovoked attack and then retreated to its tunnels while keeping civilians there to use as human shields.
As any nation, Israel has a right and a duty to respond to a force that committed such atrocities to ensure it cannot happen again and to protect its people in the future. And what’s harsh is using human shields to try to avoid the consequences of barbarism, not admitting there will be casualties.
So good for Kirby and the Biden administration, so far, for standing by Israel and asserting its right defend itself and respond to a massacre.
