Kirby criticizes Hamas leader Sinwar as ‘major obstacle’ to reaching ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel

White House national security spokesman John Kirby called Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar the “biggest obstacle” to reaching a ceasefire agreement in recent weeks.

During an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Kirby responded to a report in The Wall Street Journal that senior U.S. officials who had been hoping for a ceasefire and hostage release for months now do not expect Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement before the end of President Biden’s term. The report quoted administration officials as saying that Hamas makes demands and “then refuses to say yes after the U.S. and Israel accept them.”

“It’s certainly clear to us that Mr. Sinwar remains the biggest obstacle here to getting a deal. And it’s certainly the case that he’s done nothing in recent weeks to demonstrate that he’s willing to move forward in good faith. He’s the biggest obstacle, no question,” Kirby said Sunday. “It’s hard to get them to say yes to things that he’s already said he wants. So it’s very, very difficult.”

“But as the president said recently, everything is unrealistic until it suddenly isn’t. And we’re going to keep trying,” Kirby added. “And the idea that we’re just throwing up our hands and saying, ‘Well, it’s not going to happen before the end of the term,’ I can tell you that’s not where the president is. That’s not where Jake Sullivan is, that’s not where Tony Blinken is. We still believe that there’s a way to move this forward, and we’re going to keep trying. These hostages need an effort to get them home. We’re not going to give up on that.”

ISRAEL SAYS IT WAS CARRIED OUT REVERSE ATTACKS AGAINST HEZBOLLAH IN LEBANON, HIT HAMAS IN GAZA

Kirby reiterated the administration’s position that Israel has the right to self-defense, but acknowledged that some criticism of Israel’s handling of the conflict has also come from the Biden administration.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

“They have an absolute right to defend themselves. And we continue to provide them with the tools and the capabilities to do that. But how they do it matters,” Kirby said. “President Biden said it, Vice President Harris said it to our Israeli counterparts. They have to do it in a way that is as precise and as selective as possible to avoid harm to civilian infrastructure and, more importantly, civilian life. So that matters a lot to us.”

“Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream also asked Kirby to take action in the wake of the death of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil, who was killed Friday in an Israeli airstrike on the southern outskirts of Beirut.

Bream drew criticism from Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who suggested that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, while expressing concerns about escalation to Israeli officials after the attack, was not sufficiently grateful to Israel for eliminating the man responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings.

HEZBOLLAH IDENTIFIES SECOND MAJOR COMMANDER KILLED IN ISRAELI AIR ATTACK IN LEBANON

“Nobody, including Secretary Austin, sheds a tear over the death of Mr. Akil, who has American blood on his hands. I think the world is a better place because he’s no longer walking the planet. But that doesn’t mean we want to see an all-out war. We don’t believe, I repeat, that that’s in the best interest of the people of Israel,” Kirby said.

Akil was one of the most senior military officers in the Lebanese terrorist organization, commanding elite armed forces, and had been on Washington’s wanted list for years.

The attack came Friday as the group was still recovering from an attack on Hezbollah communications earlier last week, when thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously. Hezbollah officials said the attack killed 12 people, mostly Hezbollah members, and wounded thousands. Israel is suspected of being behind the attack, but has not claimed responsibility.

With Hezbollah firing rockets at Israel since October 2023, Kirby said the United States has been conducting “intense diplomacy for months to prevent an escalation of the conflict on the Blue Line with Lebanon.”

“We still believe that every effort should be made to pursue diplomacy and try to de-escalate, to stabilize the situation,” Kirby said.

Kirby also defended the Biden administration’s actions on Iran, despite criticism from Republicans.

“Iran is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world,” Kirby said. “And that is part, and in fact a large part, of what President Biden has done. Six hundred sanctions in this administration alone, 60 sanctions regimes. So I don’t buy the argument that we somehow turned a blind eye and just gave them cash.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source of original article: Kirby criticizes Hamas leader Sinwar as ‘major obstacle’ to reaching ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel