National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that it was tragic that innocent people were killed during the Israeli military operation that rescued four hostages who were kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack.
Anchor Dana Bash said, “I want to ask you a little bit more about that mission. One of the questions is what we’re hearing from Gaza, different hospitals in Gaza say at least 236 people were killed as a part of the Israeli operation to rescue hostages what is your understanding of how many Palestinian civilians, not militants, but civilians were killed in that rescue mission?”
Sullivan said, “We in the United States are not in a position today to make a definitive statement about that, the Israeli Defense Forces have put out one number and the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has pulled out another number. But we do know this Dana innocent people were tragically killed in this operation.”
He continued, “The exact number we don’t know, but innocent people were killed and that is heartbreaking. That is tragic. The president himself has said in recent days that the Palestinian people are going through sheer hell in this conflict, because Hamas is operating in a way that puts them in the cross-fire. That holds hostages right in the heart of crowded civilian areas that puts military and placement that’s right in the heart of crowded civilian areas. But every day that we see more innocent people lost is another horrible, awful tragic day. Our hearts in the United States and across the world, break for that, but there is only one answer to stop that from happening going forward. That is a ceasefire and hostage deal that ends the military operations, brings the hostages home and puts us in a position to give the Palestinians and opportunity for for a better future for their people.”
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