‘The United States has been providing support … to help identify the locations of hostages in Gaza,’ national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
Video shows Israeli hostages found in Gaza civilian home | Vargas Reports
A senior White House official confirmed that the United States assisted Israel in its hostage rescue mission over the past weekend without sending troops on the ground.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with multiple news outlets on June 9, a day after the Israel Defense Forces led an operation that rescued four Hamas-held hostages in Gaza.
“The United States has been providing support to Israel for several months in its efforts to help identify the locations of hostages in Gaza and to support efforts to try to secure their rescue or recovery,” Mr. Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
.@JakeSullivan46 confirms to @DanaBashCNN that “innocent people were tragically killed” during Israel’s hostage rescue operation and says that a ceasefire and hostage deal is the only way to prevent more loss of life.
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) June 9, 2024
Tune in at 9am ET for the full interview. pic.twitter.com/kPTrURI789
“I can only just say that we have generally provided support to the IDF so that we can try to get all of the hostages home, including the American hostages who are still being held.”
The United States, he said in an ABC News interview, had been working on the Israeli hostage mission “for months,” but he added, “We didn’t have any U.S. forces on the ground.”
"The only way to get all of the hostages out and to end any more civilian casualties in Gaza is to get to a comprehensive cease-fire and hostage agreement," WH national security adviser Jake Sullivan tells @MarthaRaddatz after Israeli hostage rescue. https://t.co/6mpPPpkFFz pic.twitter.com/yZlWNbNlOi
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 9, 2024
Mr. Sullivan told CNN that there was no confirmation any Israeli hostages died in the rescue attempt, which Hamas has claimed. However, he noted that such missions can pose a risk.
“I believe that the Israelis have said they do not have any information to that effect,” Mr. Sullivan said. “With all of these military operations, hostages have been killed over the last eight months.”
No U.S. soldiers or officials were sent to Israel to help in the rescue mission, he confirmed.
“Well, the one thing I can say is that there were no U.S. forces, no U.S. boots on the ground involved in this operation. We did not participate militarily in this operation,” the Biden administration national security adviser said.
The Gaza Health Ministry is run by Hamas, which has long been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. It said that 274 people died in the rescue mission. Daniel Hagari, a top spokesperson for the Israeli military, disputed those claims, saying that fewer than 100 people died in the rescue effort.
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