By Andrew Bernard, JNS
Despite the apparent collapse of a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Hamas, the White House believes a ground operation in Rafah would benefit Hamas, John Kirby, the White House national security communications advisor, told reporters on Thursday.
“Our view is that Rafah operations—certainly any kind of major Rafah ground operation—would actually strengthen Hamas’s hands at the negotiating table, not Israel’s,” Kirby said. “That’s our view.”
“If I’m Mr. Sinwar and I’m sitting down in my tunnel—I think that’s where he is—and I’m seeing innocent people falling victim to major significant combat operations in Rafah, then I have less and less incentive to want to come to the negotiating table and deal,” Kirby said, of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
“I can cast Israel in the worst possible way because of the way they’re behaving and I can just say, well, clearly they’re just not interested in a good faith way to get to a ceasefire, look at what they’re doing inside Rafah,” Kirby added, channeling Sinwar. “It just gives him more ammunition for his twisted narrative.”
Kirby told reporters about the Biden administration’s conditions on providing U.S. munitions and what it wants to see Israel do instead of a military operation against the Hamas-held enclave.
“The president has tasked his team to continue to work with Israel to refine their strategy to inflict an enduring defeat on Hamas,” Kirby said. “An enduring defeat of Hamas certainly remains the Israeli goal, and we share that goal with them.”
In U.S. President Joe Biden’s view, “smashing” into Rafah “will not advance that objective, will not get to that sustainable, enduring defeat of Hamas,” Kirby said.
Washington and Jerusalem can work together “to help Israel make sure that the border between Gaza and Egypt can’t be used for a smuggling of arms and weapons into Hamas,” Kirby added.
Kirby added that the United States could also help Israel target Hamas commanders, including Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza who orchestrated the Oct. 7 attacks.
He also said that Washington is providing Israel with assistance to do so on an ongoing basis.
The Biden administration could work with Israel on “standing up an alternative governance structure to Hamas” in Gaza, Kirby said.
JNS sought comment from the White House about who the administration thinks should govern Gaza and how the United States would assist in setting up a new government.
‘This was a horrible mistake’
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testified before a congressional committee on Wednesday that the administration paused a “shipment of high payload munitions” to Israel amid concerns from Washington about Israel launching a ground operation in Rafah.
