CNN
—
Nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday declined to say whether or not the US was snug with an Israeli hostage rescue mission that Gazan officers say killed greater than 200.
“Harmless folks have been tragically killed on this operation. The precise quantity, we don’t know, however harmless folks have been killed and that’s heartbreaking. That’s tragic,” Sullivan informed CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
“The president himself has mentioned in current days that the Palestinian individuals are going by means of sheer hell on this battle as a result of Hamas is working in a method that places them within the crossfire, that holds hostages proper within the coronary heart of crowded civilian areas,” he added.
The Israeli army rescued 4 hostages in a particular operation within the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza, that Gazan authorities mentioned killed 236 folks and injured greater than 400 others.
CNN has no method of verifying casualty numbers reported by Palestinian officers in Gaza. Medical information within the war-torn enclave don’t differentiate between civilians and militants killed. An Israeli army spokesperson put the variety of casualties from the operation at “below 100,” and had no data on what number of of these have been civilians.
Pressed by Bash on whether or not the US was snug with how the mission was carried out, Sullivan known as for a diplomatic resolution “the place there’s no want for army operations to get each final hostage out.”
“Sadly, we’re going to proceed to see ongoing battle and army operations by which Israel makes efforts to get well its residents and, frankly, to get well Americans. What we might a lot desire to see is a ceasefire the place the hostages come out peacefully,” he mentioned.
CNN beforehand reported that an American cell in Israel supported the efforts to rescue the 4 Israeli hostages, however Sullivan wouldn’t elaborate additional.
“The USA has been offering help to Israel for a number of months in its efforts to assist establish the areas of hostages in Gaza and to help efforts to attempt to safe their rescue or restoration,” he mentioned, declining to element operational or intelligence-related issues.
Sullivan added, “We didn’t take part militarily on this operation.”
The US has not confirmed Hamas’ claims that different Israeli hostages held inside Gaza have been killed throughout the mission, however Sullivan mentioned broadly that it’s “all the time a danger,” occurring to advocate for the ceasefire deal President Joe Biden has been lobbying for in current days.
“One of the simplest ways to get all the hostages house and to guard Palestinian civilians is to finish this battle. And one of the simplest ways to finish this battle is for Hamas to say ‘sure’ to the deal,” he mentioned, calling it, “the one credible path ahead.”