Israel has told White House that IDF troops will have "rest and refit," NSC's John Kirby says

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

April 7, 2024 / 2:20 PM EDT


Washington — John Kirby, the White House National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said Sunday that Israel has indicated to the Biden administration that the surprise move to pull troops out of southern Gaza is largely for "rest and refit."

Israel's military said Sunday it now has just one division in the Gaza Strip, after the other left in the last day. A spokesperson called the move an evolution of the war, rather than a partial withdrawal. But the thinking behind the move hasn't been made entirely clear.

"The indications that we've been getting from them this morning is this is really largely rest and refit for troops that have been on the ground consecutively now for four months and they need a chance to come, to come out now," Kirby said on "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "What they'll do with those troops after a rest and refit I can't speak to."

Noting that he can't speak for the operations of a sovereign military, Kirby stressed that the administration has been clear with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it does not support a ground operation in Rafah, a heavily populated area in southern Gaza, saying that there are alternative options to go after Hamas. He noted that the administration met virtually with Israeli officials last week and expects an in-person meeting "in the next week or so" where they hope to discuss the alternatives.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-kirby-face-the-nation-isreal-rest-refit-gaza/

[50 Shades Of Blue]

1. IOW, Bibi will keep doing WETF he wants.

[maxsolomon]

6. Meaning Israel needs our permission to withdraw troops from Gaza?

We WANT the IDF to pull back so a famine can be averted.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

9. Meaning exactly what I said.

[maxsolomon]

10. OK, don't know why I was confused.

[SunSeeker]

2. Unfortunately, Hamas is hiding among the civilians in Rafah.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper was interviewed on CNN recently. He said the remaining Hamas leadership and Hamas fighter battalions are in Rafah, so eventually, the IDF will have to go into Rafah. https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2024/03/20/mark-esper-u-s-israel-relations-biden-netanyahu-the-lead-jake-tapper.cnn

[Igel]

3. Not if some get their way and

Israel's pressured into handing Hamas a victory.

That's where the rhetoric, blurry though it be, seems to be pointing.

I'm glad they weren't around in 1943. Or 1863.

[erodriguez]

4. Israel handed Hamas a victory as soon as it started blowing up innocent people

The outcome was obvious to most everyone. Especially those who remember how the US handled the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9-11.

Osama Bin Laden's goal was to get the US to overreact and start a giant war in the Middle East. The US obliged and ISIS was born.

The exact same thing is happening in Gaza. Half the population are children. Those kids are out of school and being terrorized daily by the IDF. Hamas is betting they'll grow up to hate Israel.

[speak easy]

5. Stalin handed Hitler a victory as soon he started blowing up people in Berlin.

[erodriguez]

8. You do understand that your analogy falls totally flat

Germany's goal was expansion.

Hamas goal was provoking Israel to retaliate with disproportionate force against Palestinians. Which would isolate Israel in the region and the world.

It's working.

[speak easy]

12. Hamas goal was to kill Jews.

[erodriguez]

13. One of their goals.

[maxsolomon]

7. Hamas handed Israel a victory on 10/7.

If they'd have just done nothing and let Hamas keep all their hostages, their victory would be complete.

[erodriguez]

14. Never did I say they shouldn't have done nothing.

They were just counting on Netenyahu to meet them with overwhelming force

[Ace Rothstein]

11. They were already being educated to hate Israel.