National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reiterated the US administration's public position that Israel, not the US, will be responsible for determining how it conducts its military campaign in Gaza.
His comments, made both during a press conference and in an interview with CNN, came after it was reported that US officials were urging Israel to delay the ground operation in the enclave, with the aim of any diplomatic efforts to free the hostages held by "Hamas", to be exhausted.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), on the other hand, believe that in order to achieve the goals of the war against Hamas, set by the government, the army must sooner or later launch a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, writes The Times of Israel.
Israeli authorities claim that their war against Hamas is aimed at destroying the terrorist group's infrastructure. Netanyahu and other members of the wartime cabinet vowed to wipe the entire organization off the face of the earth.
After 16 days of airstrikes, Israeli forces say they are fully prepared for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and believe they can achieve their objectives, even amid attacks by the Lebanese Hidbullah group.
The military fears that the further release of the 222 hostages by Hamas could delay or even stop a ground invasion.
According to Israeli media, the army is "asking" the government to make a decision on the ground offensive soon.
This is because forces located near the border can only remain on high alert for a limited period of time.
The Israeli Air Force has so far struck more than 10,000 targets in Gaza belonging to Hamas and other terrorist groups.
Attacks in recent days have been aimed at eliminating potential threats to ground forces, including sniper and missile positions.
John Kirby also accused Iran of aiding attacks on US bases.
"Iran continues to support Hamas and Hezbollah, and we know that Iran is closely monitoring these developments and in some cases actively facilitating these attacks and encouraging others who may want to use the conflict for their own or Iran's benefit." Kirby told reporters at the White House.
"We know that Iran's goal is to deny the allegations, but we will not allow them to do that," Kirby added.
After what he called an increase over the weekend in "missile and drone attacks by Iranian-backed proxy groups against military bases housing American personnel in Iraq and Syria," John Kirby issued the stark warning at a midday briefing for reporters:
The National Security Council spokesman mentioned the strengthening of US military capabilities in the region, including the deployment of two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East and the repelling of drone and missile attacks:
"We will not allow any threat to our interests in the region to go unpunished." We demonstrated last week that we will use the military capabilities available to us to protect and defend those interests, and those capabilities are getting bigger and better every day," Kirby said.
"President Biden stated that our message to any hostile actor who seeks to escalate or expand this conflict is very simple: 'Don't do it,'" the National Security Council spokesman added.
Speaking out against the Gaza ceasefire came State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, who said:
The ceasefire will "give Hamas the opportunity to rest, re-equip and prepare to continue carrying out terrorist attacks against Israel".
"You can understand quite clearly why this is an intolerable situation for Israel, as it would be an intolerable situation for any country that has suffered such a brutal terrorist attack and continues to see the terrorist threat right on its border," he added.
Miller said the United States was separately working to ensure a flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, with US envoy David Satterfield working "intensively" to ensure supplies.
Miller's remarks came in response to the stance of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who earlier today said he expected the bloc's leaders to back a call for a pause in aid battles.
US President Joe Biden has said that any discussions on a Gaza ceasefire can only take place if Hamas releases all the hostages taken by Israel in the October 7 attack, AFP reported.
"We need to free these hostages and then we can talk," Biden said at a White House event when asked if he would support a "hostage cease-fire" deal.
Biden also touched on the conversation he had with Pope Francis on October 22 regarding the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
"The Pope and I are on the same page, he was very, very interested in what we were doing," the US head of state said.
Biden informed that he had "laid out to him what the plan of action is" regarding US support for Israel.
"The Pope supported him in all aspects," he added.
The I24 news channel in Tel Aviv reported "sources in Gaza" who are certain that "the finalization of a potential deal" for the release of around 50 hostages, who hold dual citizenship, is underway. The deal will be mediated by Qatar.
Red Cross officials are believed to be on their way to meet the group. The release of the people could be completed "in the coming hours" if no new obstacles arise.
A halt to Israeli airstrikes over Gaza is believed to be part of the deal to allow Red Cross teams to reach the hostages safely.
Earlier today, the Israel Defense Forces updated the number of hostages it said were being held by Hamas to 222. Last week, Hamas released two American citizens, Natalie Raanan, 19, and her mother Judith, 59.
John Kirby emphasized that the negotiations are at a delicate stage:
"It is impossible to publicly describe the efforts that are underway at this time. We are grateful for all the help we have received to get these two American women, mother and daughter, out, and we are glad they are okay."
"There's just a lot of effort, a lot of conversations and discussions with partners in the region. And I think it's best not to detail that process," Kirby added.
Meanwhile, Hamas confirmed that talks were underway to release the hostages, but said Israel must first stop bombing Gaza.
"Let them stop this aggression and you will find mediators like Qatar and Egypt and some Arab countries. A way will be found to release the hostages and we will send them home," Khaled Meshaal, chief negotiator, told Sky News.
Late on October 23, Hamas said it had freed two more hostages, and Egyptian state media reported that the hostages had arrived at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
This good news came amid information from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid had passed through the Rafah border crossing to Gaza.
Ten trucks carried supplies of water, food and medicine from the United Nations. The remaining ten trucks were loaded with supplies from the Egyptian Red Crescent, a UN spokesman said.
At the same time, a meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Iran, Armenia and Azerbaijan was held in Tehran. The first diplomats of these five countries united around the thesis that attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip must be stopped.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to travel to Israel within the next few hours, with the head of state expected to call for the resumption of the peace process and the creation of a Palestinian state, as well as an end to the colonization of the West Bank.
“The only way to be helpful is, first, to show solidarity with Israel; second, to have very clear commitments against terrorist groups; and thirdly, to open up a political perspective," Macron's office said in a statement./BGNES
