U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Sunday that the U.S. intelligence community had no information about Hamas' attack plan before Oct. 7. Kirby made the remarks in an interview with NBC.
WATCH: It's "unacceptable" that Hamas isn't giving the Red Cross access to hostages, says NSC Spokesperson John Kirby.
"Hamas agreed to allow the Red Cross access to these hostages while the pause was in place, and of course, that didn't happen and is still not happening." pic.twitter.com/YXC9yu73Tr
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 3, 2023
"Modiin is like a mosaic, you can get good things and a clear picture emerges from it. Other times, you can miss pieces of the puzzle," he said in an interview. "Our intelligence agencies investigated the matter and saw that there were no indications and were not familiar with the document in which the plan was detailed."
Neither side is ready to return to the table
Kirby was referring to the Hamas action document exposed in The New York Times a few days ago, which was even obtained by Israeli intelligence a year ago but was not used due to the perception that it was an "ambitious plan to implement."
Kirby also addressed the intelligence failure on the Israeli side, saying, "Prime Minister Netanyahu has already talked about this issue in terms of failure on their part. They will investigate it in depth at the right time, they must do it. Right now, the focus should be on destroying Hamas's threat to the Israeli public."
WATCH: The U.S. is working "hour by hour" to bring Hamas back to the hostage negotiations, NSC spokesperson John Kirby says.
On the timeline to get them back on track: "We would like that to happen today. But honestly, I just don't know." pic.twitter.com/wkGdgVfFur
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 3, 2023
In another interview with ABC, Kirby said that the United States was "working at the highest levels to see if a lull in the fighting that would allow the release of more hostages can be restored. Neither side is ready to return to the table, but it is important to remember how we got to this point. It exploded because Hamas was not willing to hand over a list of women and children, which we know they hold."
"Working with the Israeli side - we will not stop humanitarian aid"
"One thing that hasn't stopped is humanitarian aid to Gaza. We are working with the Israeli side to see if it is possible to deliver aid at an increased level as we have done last week. It's about food, water, medicine, and fuel," he added.
Regarding the Israeli effort to prevent harm to innocent civilians, Kirby said that Israel is attentive to the messages coming from Washington on the issue. "We saw it in the northern Gaza Strip when they acted in a precise and limited manner. The military also published maps so people understood where to go to avoid entering combat zones. There aren't many armies in the world that would do that."
WH's John Kirby on MTP:
• No official negotiations on release of hostages and pause in fire "because of Hamas."
• "Hamas agreed to allow the Red Cross access to these hostages while the pause was in place, and, of course, that didn't happen ... And it's unacceptable." pic.twitter.com/ZVYF5Mdte4
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) December 3, 2023
"I will not get ahead of the Israelis and refer to ground operations in the southern Gaza Strip. They are acting in the right way by informing citizens where to go."
Regarding the day after, Kirby said, "The president still believes in the two-state solution. The Palestinians need an independent state that can live in peace and security. For that, we need a renewed and more informed Palestinian Authority. At the moment, there is no Palestinian Authority that is attentive to the aspirations of the Palestinian people and has a voice and some degree of control over the situation in Gaza."
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