WEBVTT 00:01.049 --> 00:02.438 Don't let me interrupt . 00:05.090 --> 00:08.770 Ok . Before we move to 00:08.779 --> 00:11.001 question just a couple of brief opening 00:11.001 --> 00:13.359 comments , uh the secretary and other 00:13.369 --> 00:15.600 senior officials in the department and 00:15.609 --> 00:17.553 across the government were engaged 00:17.553 --> 00:19.720 through the weekend and monitoring and 00:19.720 --> 00:21.776 responding to uh unfolding events in 00:21.776 --> 00:23.887 the Middle East . The secretary spoke 00:23.887 --> 00:25.665 yesterday to the French Foreign 00:25.665 --> 00:27.553 Minister about ongoing diplomatic 00:27.553 --> 00:29.720 efforts to de escalate tensions in the 00:29.720 --> 00:31.887 region . He is um uh speaking to other 00:31.887 --> 00:34.470 counterparts uh uh today , both in 00:34.479 --> 00:36.646 person on the sidelines of the DE ISIS 00:36.689 --> 00:38.856 ministerial that's happening uh in our 00:38.856 --> 00:40.911 building as well as uh by phone . Uh 00:40.911 --> 00:42.745 And we'll have readouts of those 00:42.745 --> 00:44.800 conversations as the day goes on . I 00:44.800 --> 00:46.689 want to make a few points clear . 00:46.689 --> 00:48.856 Number one , we support Israel's right 00:48.856 --> 00:51.078 to defend itself against terrorism that 00:51.078 --> 00:53.245 includes by bringing brutal terrorists 00:53.245 --> 00:55.356 such as Hassan Nasrallah to justice . 00:55.356 --> 00:57.467 At the same time , we ultimately want 00:57.467 --> 00:59.356 to see a diplomatic resolution to 00:59.356 --> 01:01.189 conflict in the Middle East that 01:01.189 --> 01:03.356 provides long term security to for the 01:03.356 --> 01:05.189 people of Israel , the people of 01:05.189 --> 01:07.300 Lebanon and the Palestinian people as 01:07.300 --> 01:09.300 well as the broader region . And we 01:09.300 --> 01:11.133 will continue to work to advance 01:11.133 --> 01:13.660 efforts along those fronts that met . 01:13.989 --> 01:16.900 Right . Uh , ok . Well , just , uh , 01:16.910 --> 01:19.610 first do you , can you give us an idea 01:19.620 --> 01:21.750 of who he plans to talk to ? Uh , he 01:21.760 --> 01:23.760 was on the phone when I walked down 01:23.760 --> 01:25.538 here with the , um , UK Foreign 01:25.538 --> 01:27.760 Minister , he was on the phone with the 01:27.760 --> 01:29.982 UK Foreign Minister . We'll have a read 01:29.982 --> 01:29.599 out of that later today as well as 01:29.610 --> 01:31.721 others . I don't have a , a full list 01:31.721 --> 01:33.610 but he's doing some , some of our 01:33.610 --> 01:35.610 conversations on the margins of the 01:35.610 --> 01:35.290 ministerial today and then others will 01:35.300 --> 01:37.505 be phone calls . Those go beyond the 01:38.316 --> 01:40.372 what was on the schedule , which was 01:40.372 --> 01:43.625 like Kuwait and the ones that are on 01:43.636 --> 01:45.580 the public schedule and I wouldn't 01:45.580 --> 01:47.303 foreclose others that are just 01:47.303 --> 01:49.525 opportunistic as he sees people here in 01:49.525 --> 01:51.636 the building . Ok . Is he going to be 01:51.636 --> 01:53.747 speaking with any Israeli officials ? 01:53.747 --> 01:55.636 He has been speaking with Israeli 01:55.636 --> 01:57.692 officials dating back to last week , 01:57.692 --> 01:59.914 met with me and , and , and , and , and 01:59.914 --> 01:59.241 we'll continue to some of those 01:59.251 --> 02:01.418 conversations we read out some , we do 02:01.418 --> 02:05.132 not . So he has had , is it accurate to 02:05.141 --> 02:07.781 say that he has had conversations today ? 02:08.341 --> 02:10.397 I don't know that he has had any yet 02:10.397 --> 02:12.563 today , but he will continue to engage 02:12.563 --> 02:14.651 and then , and then just so what is 02:14.662 --> 02:17.072 your understanding of what Israel is 02:17.082 --> 02:20.722 planning to do or , or not to do ? 02:21.710 --> 02:25.380 So ? I will let I'm going to assume you , 02:25.410 --> 02:27.466 I'm gonna assume you're referring to 02:27.466 --> 02:29.799 the report , what Israel is going to do . 02:29.799 --> 02:31.966 I'm asking you what they have told you 02:31.966 --> 02:34.021 they are going to do or not . So , I 02:34.021 --> 02:36.077 think you're , I shouldn't presume I 02:36.077 --> 02:38.188 answer the question , but I think , I 02:38.188 --> 02:40.410 think that's , that's ok . I know there 02:40.410 --> 02:42.410 was an important Buffalo Bills game 02:42.410 --> 02:42.190 last night that I assume you were , you 02:42.300 --> 02:45.440 know what I said that we were not , I A 02:46.089 --> 02:49.500 for bringing it up , fair , fair , fair , 02:49.639 --> 02:51.806 fair point . So look , I'll let Israel 02:51.806 --> 02:54.139 speak to uh its own military operations . 02:54.139 --> 02:55.869 We have been uh engaged in 02:55.880 --> 02:58.309 conversations with them about , about 02:58.320 --> 03:00.690 those operations , but the timing 03:00.699 --> 03:03.229 purpose , uh tempo of those I'll let 03:03.240 --> 03:05.630 them speak to . So they haven't told 03:05.639 --> 03:07.695 you anything about what's going on . 03:07.695 --> 03:09.750 They have been uh uh we have been in 03:09.750 --> 03:09.550 conversations , they have been 03:09.559 --> 03:11.281 informing us about a number of 03:11.281 --> 03:13.392 operations . I know I've seen reports 03:13.392 --> 03:15.503 about um uh ground operations . We've 03:15.503 --> 03:17.670 had some conversations with them about 03:17.670 --> 03:20.259 that . They have uh uh at this time 03:20.279 --> 03:22.001 told us that those are limited 03:22.001 --> 03:23.779 operations focused on Hezbollah 03:23.779 --> 03:25.835 infrastructure near the border , but 03:25.835 --> 03:28.001 we're in continuous conversations with 03:28.001 --> 03:31.259 them about it . Matt on so on those 03:31.270 --> 03:33.919 conversations . And you said they told 03:33.929 --> 03:37.809 us um those are limited operations um 03:38.160 --> 03:41.250 has , has , does the US have some sort 03:41.259 --> 03:44.350 of a red line or an ideal uh 03:44.360 --> 03:47.589 description of success for Israel's 03:47.600 --> 03:50.979 operations that it's sort of talking 03:50.990 --> 03:53.212 with Israel , like this comes across as 03:53.212 --> 03:55.379 like pretty open ended . I'm trying to 03:55.379 --> 03:58.929 understand whether us is trying to uh 03:58.940 --> 04:01.710 limit it to , I mean , how will you 04:01.720 --> 04:03.998 know that these are limited incursions , 04:03.998 --> 04:06.053 how , how will you ensure it doesn't 04:06.053 --> 04:08.276 sort of escalate further ? So I'm gonna 04:08.276 --> 04:10.053 keep our conversations with the 04:10.053 --> 04:12.276 government of Israel private . Uh These 04:12.276 --> 04:14.442 are conversations that we have uh that 04:14.442 --> 04:16.664 we have had with them going back months 04:16.664 --> 04:16.529 where we have been clear about what we 04:16.540 --> 04:19.149 believe is the , the best way to uh 04:19.160 --> 04:21.709 ensure that Israeli citizens can return 04:21.720 --> 04:23.942 to their homes and that the citizens of 04:23.942 --> 04:26.109 Lebanon can return to their homes . Um 04:26.489 --> 04:28.656 But as I said , at the top , there are 04:28.656 --> 04:30.545 a few things that are true here . 04:30.545 --> 04:32.489 Number one , Israel has a right to 04:32.489 --> 04:34.545 defend itself against Hezbollah . If 04:34.545 --> 04:36.600 you look at how this conflict across 04:36.600 --> 04:36.510 Israel's northern border started , it 04:36.519 --> 04:38.575 was Hezbollah that started launching 04:38.579 --> 04:40.635 attacks on Israel on October 8th and 04:40.640 --> 04:42.859 those attacks continued uh and have 04:42.869 --> 04:44.925 continued and are continued . If you 04:44.925 --> 04:46.813 look at what the acting leader of 04:46.813 --> 04:48.925 Hezbollah said just today , it's that 04:48.925 --> 04:51.147 their attacks on Israel will continue . 04:51.147 --> 04:53.313 So Israel has a right to defend itself 04:53.313 --> 04:52.489 against those attacks . So that 04:52.500 --> 04:54.410 includes in targeting terrorist 04:54.420 --> 04:56.587 infrastructure inside Lebanon . At the 04:56.587 --> 04:58.809 same time , we want to ultimately see a 04:58.809 --> 05:01.087 diplomatic resolution to this conflict , 05:01.087 --> 05:03.253 one that allows citizens on both sides 05:03.253 --> 05:05.531 of the border to return to their homes . 05:05.531 --> 05:07.531 So it's interesting that now you're 05:07.531 --> 05:09.476 saying we want to ultimately see a 05:09.476 --> 05:11.309 diplomatic resolution to this as 05:11.309 --> 05:15.010 opposed to last week when States and 05:15.019 --> 05:17.390 France called for a ceasefire in 05:17.399 --> 05:20.329 Lebanon . So the United States at this 05:20.339 --> 05:22.630 point is no longer calling for a 05:22.640 --> 05:24.862 ceasefire in Lebanon . Not at all . You 05:24.862 --> 05:26.973 heard the president say today that we 05:26.973 --> 05:26.970 continue to support a cease fire . We 05:26.980 --> 05:29.147 do , of course , continue to support , 05:29.147 --> 05:31.091 we of course continue to support a 05:31.091 --> 05:33.200 cease fire . But I I think sometimes 05:33.209 --> 05:35.350 people either misinterpret or have 05:35.359 --> 05:37.526 their own version of what a cease fire 05:37.526 --> 05:39.730 is , a cease fire is not one side in a 05:39.739 --> 05:41.795 conflict , unilaterally putting down 05:41.799 --> 05:44.021 its arms and stopping the conflict . It 05:44.021 --> 05:46.619 is an agreement for both sides to stop 05:46.630 --> 05:48.797 the conflict . And in this case , what 05:48.797 --> 05:50.852 we have proposed a 21 day cease fire 05:50.852 --> 05:52.963 where both sides would stop attacking 05:52.963 --> 05:54.686 the other and we would reach a 05:54.686 --> 05:56.852 diplomatic resolution and we are going 05:56.852 --> 05:59.019 to continue to engage with our Israeli 05:59.019 --> 05:58.505 counterparts , with Lebanese 05:58.515 --> 06:00.626 counterparts and with other countries 06:00.626 --> 06:02.515 around the world um to reach that 06:02.515 --> 06:04.459 objective . But at the same time , 06:04.459 --> 06:06.682 there are a couple of other things that 06:06.682 --> 06:05.954 are true as well , which is that number 06:05.964 --> 06:08.570 one military pressure can at times 06:08.579 --> 06:10.801 enable diplomacy . Of course , military 06:10.809 --> 06:12.410 pressure can also lead to 06:12.420 --> 06:14.230 miscalculation , it can lead to 06:14.239 --> 06:16.406 unintended consequences . And we're in 06:16.406 --> 06:18.350 conversation with Israel about all 06:18.350 --> 06:20.461 these factors now . So is that 21 day 06:20.461 --> 06:22.572 ceasefire proposal still on the table 06:22.572 --> 06:24.683 with the Israelis ? Of course , it is 06:24.683 --> 06:26.961 you heard the president speak to today , 06:26.961 --> 06:28.961 but that said a cease fire is not a 06:28.961 --> 06:30.961 call for one side unilaterally in a 06:30.961 --> 06:33.959 conflict to stop uh defending itself . 06:33.970 --> 06:36.081 It is a conflict . It is a call for a 06:36.081 --> 06:38.192 diplomatic resolution that both sides 06:38.192 --> 06:40.248 would agree to . And so yes , Israel 06:40.248 --> 06:42.359 continues to gauge in this conflict . 06:42.359 --> 06:44.581 But as I said , a minute ago , when you 06:44.581 --> 06:43.850 heard the new acting leader of 06:43.920 --> 06:46.142 Hezbollah come out today , what he said 06:46.142 --> 06:46.079 is they are going to continue their 06:46.089 --> 06:48.269 attacks on Israel . So that's why I go 06:48.279 --> 06:50.501 back to the history of this , that this 06:50.501 --> 06:52.640 conflict started because it was 06:52.649 --> 06:54.859 Hezbollah on the day after October 7th 06:55.089 --> 06:57.200 that started launching rocket attacks 06:57.200 --> 06:59.367 across the border that had not stopped 06:59.367 --> 07:01.589 until this day . And Israel has a right 07:01.589 --> 07:03.867 to defend itself against those attacks . 07:03.867 --> 07:05.922 And can you , can you clarify or can 07:05.922 --> 07:08.089 you help us understand what exactly us 07:08.089 --> 07:10.890 is doing right now ? Um You know , if 07:10.899 --> 07:13.570 that 21 day ceasefire proposal is still 07:13.579 --> 07:15.549 on the table , like what are you 07:15.559 --> 07:19.440 exactly doing to sort of diplomatically 07:19.450 --> 07:21.617 end this , what is the secretary doing 07:21.617 --> 07:23.950 or what , what is the White House doing ? 07:23.950 --> 07:26.117 Because from , you know what , what it 07:26.117 --> 07:28.283 sounds like from what you're saying is 07:28.283 --> 07:30.506 last week , for example , a US official 07:30.506 --> 07:32.728 and I believe senior other US officials 07:32.728 --> 07:34.783 have said they , they disagreed with 07:34.783 --> 07:36.617 Israel's argument to escalate to 07:36.617 --> 07:39.429 deescalated . Now , you don't sound 07:39.739 --> 07:41.628 like you're disagreeing with that 07:41.628 --> 07:43.572 anymore . You're talking about how 07:43.640 --> 07:46.220 military pressure could yield to some 07:46.230 --> 07:48.397 sort of a diplomatic resolution . So I 07:48.397 --> 07:50.670 just want to understand what are you 07:50.679 --> 07:53.279 doing diplomatically ? We are engaged 07:53.290 --> 07:55.630 in diplomatic conversations with all of 07:55.640 --> 07:57.751 the relevant parties , parties in the 07:57.751 --> 07:59.973 region , our parties around the world , 07:59.973 --> 08:02.140 the parties that were on the call that 08:02.140 --> 08:04.251 we put out last week for a diplomatic 08:04.251 --> 08:04.239 resolution and we continue to work to 08:04.250 --> 08:06.779 reach one . Um But if you can , if you 08:06.790 --> 08:08.901 look at the statement that we put out 08:08.910 --> 08:11.309 with the G7 , with the EU with a number 08:11.320 --> 08:13.320 of our important Arab partners last 08:13.320 --> 08:15.542 week , it was for a cease fire , but it 08:15.542 --> 08:17.598 was also for a diplomatic resolution 08:17.598 --> 08:19.709 that called for the implementation of 08:19.709 --> 08:21.987 Un Security Council 17 resolution 1701 . 08:21.987 --> 08:24.153 And what that resolution would require 08:24.153 --> 08:26.264 is something that Hezbollah has never 08:26.264 --> 08:28.264 done . And still to this day is not 08:28.264 --> 08:28.095 doing , which is to withdraw from the 08:28.105 --> 08:30.216 border in a way it was supposed to do 08:30.216 --> 08:32.438 years ago . So we will continue to push 08:32.438 --> 08:34.494 for a diplomatic resolution . But we 08:34.494 --> 08:36.716 should be clear that the burden of that 08:36.716 --> 08:38.716 diplomatic res resolution falls not 08:38.716 --> 08:41.049 just on Israel but on Hezbollah as well . 08:42.260 --> 08:45.450 Um On the on what comes after a 08:45.460 --> 08:47.890 diplomatic resolution for the current 08:47.900 --> 08:50.510 conflict ? Um Are you able to just give 08:50.520 --> 08:52.520 us a little bit more about the long 08:52.520 --> 08:55.489 term strategy on what happens with 08:55.500 --> 08:57.880 Lebanon ? Now , given that there is a 08:57.890 --> 09:00.669 bit of a power vacuum in the country . 09:00.729 --> 09:03.760 Is this something that you , that the 09:03.770 --> 09:07.200 US has longer term planning for ? 09:07.299 --> 09:09.410 Is this something that has caught the 09:09.410 --> 09:11.632 US off guard in terms of having to work 09:11.632 --> 09:13.799 with allies to plan now for the future 09:13.799 --> 09:15.632 of Lebanon ? Is there , is there 09:15.632 --> 09:17.743 something you can give us in terms of 09:17.743 --> 09:20.179 like understanding the US role in this 09:20.190 --> 09:22.523 next step for Lebanon ? So first of all , 09:22.523 --> 09:24.690 I'd say that there has actually been a 09:24.690 --> 09:26.801 power vacuum in Lebanon for some time 09:26.801 --> 09:28.746 and there's been a power vacuum in 09:28.746 --> 09:30.857 Lebanon largely because Hezbollah has 09:30.857 --> 09:33.023 held a veto over the choosing of a new 09:33.023 --> 09:35.134 president and Hezbollah has prevented 09:35.134 --> 09:37.079 the convening of the parliament to 09:37.079 --> 09:39.190 choose a new president . So it is AAA 09:39.190 --> 09:41.412 sad statement of reality that there has 09:41.412 --> 09:43.579 been a political uh vacuum that has uh 09:43.579 --> 09:45.523 prevented that country from moving 09:45.523 --> 09:48.229 forward with um uh full political 09:48.239 --> 09:50.659 governance and uh an ability to 09:50.669 --> 09:53.619 implement Un Security Council 1701 , as 09:53.630 --> 09:55.686 well as a number of economic reforms 09:55.686 --> 09:57.741 that we have called for and other uh 09:57.741 --> 10:00.019 partners have called for for some time . 10:00.019 --> 10:02.130 So I would say , I think with respect 10:02.130 --> 10:04.352 to the events of the last few days , it 10:04.352 --> 10:06.297 is too early to say to see how tho 10:06.297 --> 10:05.960 those are gonna shake out . Uh 10:05.969 --> 10:08.880 Certainly , I think it is an unalloyed , 10:08.890 --> 10:11.057 good for the people of Lebanon and the 10:11.057 --> 10:12.946 people of the broader region that 10:12.946 --> 10:15.057 Hassan Nasrallah is no longer walking 10:15.057 --> 10:16.946 the face of this earth . Um He is 10:16.946 --> 10:18.668 someone who , as I said , held 10:18.668 --> 10:21.369 Lebanon's political governance for 10:21.380 --> 10:24.109 moving forward . Uh He is someone who 10:24.119 --> 10:26.619 has attacked the civilians of Lebanese 10:26.630 --> 10:28.463 of Lebanon over the years , he's 10:28.463 --> 10:30.297 someone who's attacked obviously 10:30.297 --> 10:30.270 civilians of Israel . He's attacked 10:30.280 --> 10:32.447 American citizens and he's attacked uh 10:32.447 --> 10:34.447 civilians in Syria . So is not ally 10:34.447 --> 10:36.613 good for the region and the world that 10:36.613 --> 10:38.613 he is no longer with us . But where 10:38.613 --> 10:38.580 Lebanon will , will go from here , I 10:38.590 --> 10:40.534 think it is far too early to say , 10:40.534 --> 10:42.646 obviously , we want to see the people 10:42.646 --> 10:44.812 of Lebanon able to choose their future 10:44.812 --> 10:46.979 and not be held hostage to a terrorist 10:46.979 --> 10:49.409 organization . And um on the , the 10:49.419 --> 10:51.679 talks last week in on the sidelines of 10:51.690 --> 10:53.799 New um at the UN General Assembly in 10:53.809 --> 10:57.489 New York . Um was there any , 10:57.599 --> 10:59.766 would you , would you describe it as a 10:59.766 --> 11:01.877 miscommunication between the Israelis 11:01.877 --> 11:03.900 and the US about a ceasefire being 11:03.909 --> 11:06.076 something that they would also want to 11:06.076 --> 11:09.559 work towards or is that ? So I don't 11:09.570 --> 11:11.869 think I want to characterize it . We 11:11.880 --> 11:15.719 put out the statement that we made um 11:15.729 --> 11:17.951 with our partners in full co ordination 11:17.951 --> 11:20.549 with our partners . We at the same time 11:20.559 --> 11:22.503 were having conversations with the 11:22.503 --> 11:24.392 government of Israel and with the 11:24.392 --> 11:26.559 government of Lebanon , they obviously 11:26.559 --> 11:26.349 weren't a party to that statement or 11:26.359 --> 11:28.470 they would have , you would have seen 11:28.470 --> 11:30.526 their name on it . But uh it was one 11:30.526 --> 11:29.820 that we took in conjunction with our 11:29.830 --> 11:31.997 other partners . And ultimately , what 11:31.997 --> 11:34.052 we saw Israel do took 24 hours . But 11:34.052 --> 11:36.052 ultimately , what we saw them do is 11:36.052 --> 11:38.416 that they welcomed our efforts and they 11:38.426 --> 11:40.616 shared our aims , which is a long term 11:40.625 --> 11:42.616 diplomatic resolution . Now , what 11:42.625 --> 11:44.847 happens between now and getting there ? 11:44.847 --> 11:46.847 I think it's too early to say . But 11:46.847 --> 11:49.014 that is ultimately what we're going to 11:49.014 --> 11:51.236 try to bring about . Can I just ask the 11:51.236 --> 11:53.403 last one in Gaza ? There was reporting 11:53.403 --> 11:55.403 in the Israeli Press a few days ago 11:55.403 --> 11:57.569 about Yaya Sinar that there wasn't any 11:57.569 --> 11:59.625 communication with him . In the last 11:59.625 --> 12:01.681 couple of weeks , the secretary also 12:01.681 --> 12:03.847 spoke about this last week saying that 12:03.847 --> 12:05.958 Hamas is not engaging right now . Can 12:05.958 --> 12:08.069 you give us any update on the efforts 12:08.069 --> 12:10.181 there talks ? So I don't with respect 12:10.181 --> 12:12.347 to the first question when it comes to 12:12.347 --> 12:14.403 sin , I don't have any update on his 12:14.403 --> 12:16.514 condition at all one way or the other 12:16.514 --> 12:18.569 with when it comes to talks though . 12:18.569 --> 12:20.681 What the secretary was speaking to is 12:20.681 --> 12:20.581 the fact that , you know , several 12:20.591 --> 12:22.758 weeks ago , we were quite public about 12:22.758 --> 12:24.758 the fact that um we had presented a 12:24.758 --> 12:26.758 bridging proposal that tried to get 12:26.758 --> 12:28.924 both sides to . Yes . And there were a 12:28.924 --> 12:31.091 number of implementing details that we 12:31.091 --> 12:33.091 needed to work out and we were in a 12:33.091 --> 12:35.258 place where we were looking to present 12:35.258 --> 12:37.258 a further proposal that would um uh 12:37.258 --> 12:39.313 bridge those remaining differences . 12:39.313 --> 12:41.202 And what's happened over the past 12:41.202 --> 12:43.202 several weeks is that the mediators 12:43.202 --> 12:45.480 that discussed these issues with Hamas . 12:45.480 --> 12:47.313 So Qatar and Egypt have not been 12:47.313 --> 12:49.591 willing to get them to engage or sorry , 12:49.591 --> 12:51.480 have not been able to get them to 12:51.480 --> 12:53.591 engage at all . They have very , very 12:53.591 --> 12:55.702 much , they Qatar and Egypt have very 12:55.702 --> 12:57.869 much been willing but have been had no 12:57.869 --> 12:59.924 party at the other end of the line , 12:59.924 --> 12:59.710 willing to engage substantively at all 12:59.719 --> 13:01.886 in these proposals . So the reason you 13:01.886 --> 13:03.775 have not seen us put forward this 13:03.775 --> 13:05.997 proposal is we can't get a clear answer 13:05.997 --> 13:08.280 from Hamas of what they're willing to 13:08.289 --> 13:10.456 entertain and what they're not willing 13:10.456 --> 13:12.622 to entertain . So that's why the , the 13:12.622 --> 13:14.733 secretary made those comments . We're 13:14.733 --> 13:14.469 going to continue to try to work it . 13:14.479 --> 13:16.535 But it goes back to the point I made 13:16.535 --> 13:18.535 about cease fires in the context of 13:18.535 --> 13:20.535 Hezbollah to get a cease fire . You 13:20.535 --> 13:22.535 need parties on both sides that are 13:22.535 --> 13:24.701 willing to discuss the issues with you 13:24.701 --> 13:26.923 and ultimately make decisions . Um It's 13:26.923 --> 13:28.757 not to say that Israel has fully 13:28.757 --> 13:28.479 accepted uh a cease fire . Obviously , 13:28.489 --> 13:30.545 we know they have tough decisions to 13:30.545 --> 13:32.711 make , but the issue over the last few 13:32.711 --> 13:34.878 weeks has been that has been unwilling 13:34.878 --> 13:36.878 to engage the Israelis still at the 13:36.878 --> 13:38.989 table . We are still engaged with the 13:38.989 --> 13:40.989 Israelis on the question and we had 13:40.989 --> 13:43.299 been this process . II , I spoke about 13:43.309 --> 13:46.090 where we were discussing the remaining 13:46.099 --> 13:48.219 issues with the mediators we had been 13:48.229 --> 13:50.173 doing with Israel and we have been 13:50.173 --> 13:52.285 discussing with Israel , how we could 13:52.285 --> 13:54.507 get by the various differences and have 13:54.507 --> 13:56.618 uh had an ongoing back and forth that 13:56.618 --> 13:58.507 would inform the proposal that we 13:58.507 --> 14:01.080 intended to present so that process has 14:01.090 --> 14:03.146 been ongoing . But his stalls on the 14:03.146 --> 14:06.580 other side , can I ask about , um , 14:06.669 --> 14:09.080 plans for new or , or is the State 14:09.090 --> 14:11.257 Department's view that there are still 14:11.257 --> 14:13.090 viable commercial options out of 14:13.090 --> 14:15.559 Lebanon for American there bless you . 14:15.609 --> 14:17.720 Uh There , there are still commercial 14:17.720 --> 14:19.942 op uh options that are available . They 14:19.942 --> 14:22.109 are limited . Of course , we have been 14:22.109 --> 14:24.276 in contact with uh American citizens . 14:24.276 --> 14:26.705 We have urged American citizens to fill 14:26.715 --> 14:28.945 out the intake form uh on our website 14:28.955 --> 14:31.011 to receive information . We've heard 14:31.011 --> 14:33.177 from a number of American citizens and 14:33.177 --> 14:35.177 we are working with them to provide 14:35.177 --> 14:37.011 them updates about uh commercial 14:37.011 --> 14:39.177 flights that are available . Um We are 14:39.177 --> 14:41.011 working with airlines to address 14:41.011 --> 14:42.899 requests by us citizens to depart 14:42.899 --> 14:44.844 Lebanon uh by providing additional 14:44.844 --> 14:46.677 flights with seats for personnel 14:46.677 --> 14:48.788 purchase and we're exploring uh other 14:48.788 --> 14:50.955 options as we always do in this circum 14:50.955 --> 14:53.122 these circumstances , but I don't have 14:53.122 --> 14:55.177 anything to announce today . So , so 14:55.177 --> 14:57.399 what was the answer to his question ? I 14:57.399 --> 14:59.455 said it was a full , it was a full , 14:59.455 --> 15:01.677 full answer about the things that we're 15:01.677 --> 15:04.011 doing and we are exploring . So we , we , 15:04.011 --> 15:05.955 so we always , we are , we are not 15:05.955 --> 15:05.789 evacuating . Let me just be quick . 15:05.799 --> 15:07.966 We're not evacuating American citizens 15:07.966 --> 15:10.130 from uh uh Lebanon at this time . We 15:10.140 --> 15:12.239 always conduct a prudent planning 15:12.250 --> 15:14.361 process . We have been doing that for 15:14.361 --> 15:16.472 some months going all the way back to 15:16.472 --> 15:16.414 October 7th . But at this time , 15:16.424 --> 15:18.257 there's still commercial options 15:18.257 --> 15:20.480 available . And when you talk about how 15:20.480 --> 15:22.646 the embassy is work and again , excuse 15:22.646 --> 15:24.368 my voice , when you talk about 15:24.368 --> 15:26.645 commercial options uh for flights , um 15:26.655 --> 15:28.835 you know , in the past or , or back in 15:29.075 --> 15:32.934 uh 2006 , uh a large majority of the 15:32.945 --> 15:36.655 people who left uh under your auspices 15:36.664 --> 15:40.559 left on ferries . Is that also , I 15:40.570 --> 15:42.929 don't want to say what options are or 15:42.940 --> 15:45.200 not under consideration at this time , 15:45.210 --> 15:47.488 there are commercial options available . 15:47.488 --> 15:49.377 We are exploring other commercial 15:49.377 --> 15:51.432 flights available . We are exploring 15:51.432 --> 15:53.432 other potential options , should we 15:53.432 --> 15:55.654 need to ? But it's not a decision we've 15:55.654 --> 15:58.979 made as of yet . 21 . Are you 15:59.559 --> 16:03.409 still on the table ? Is that the , is 16:03.419 --> 16:06.559 it , is that the focus of us diplomatic 16:06.570 --> 16:08.459 efforts right now or are you also 16:08.459 --> 16:11.700 pursuing an other diplomatic solutions 16:11.710 --> 16:13.988 to what we're seeing between his blood ? 16:14.059 --> 16:15.948 It is the focus of our efforts uh 16:15.948 --> 16:18.750 linked , of course , as we made clear 16:18.760 --> 16:20.927 when we made the proposal in the first 16:20.927 --> 16:22.593 place to a broader diplomatic 16:22.593 --> 16:24.816 resolution , the idea of the cease fire 16:24.816 --> 16:26.927 was not a cease fire just for a cease 16:26.927 --> 16:28.982 fire's sake . It was a cease fire to 16:28.982 --> 16:30.871 give space to to pursue a broader 16:30.871 --> 16:32.704 diplomatic resolution that would 16:32.704 --> 16:34.927 include Hezbollah pulling back from the 16:34.927 --> 16:36.760 border . So Israeli citizens and 16:36.760 --> 16:38.816 Lebanese citizens would feel safe to 16:38.816 --> 16:41.038 return to their homes and to be clear , 16:41.038 --> 16:42.982 you've still not received a direct 16:42.982 --> 16:44.871 Israeli response to that proposal 16:44.871 --> 16:46.816 because Netanyahu first threw cold 16:46.816 --> 16:49.038 water on it . Then his office put out a 16:49.038 --> 16:51.159 statement , you know , with some 16:51.169 --> 16:54.530 openness to a us role in bringing down 16:54.539 --> 16:56.969 tensions there but not responding to 16:56.979 --> 16:59.035 the proposal . So we don't know what 16:59.035 --> 17:01.257 Israel's response still is to that . Is 17:01.257 --> 17:03.257 that right ? We have , we have been 17:03.257 --> 17:05.257 engaged in ongoing discussions with 17:05.257 --> 17:07.729 them about the proposal . Um And then 17:08.199 --> 17:10.199 when , when we watch what Israel is 17:10.199 --> 17:12.428 doing here , you know , they're saying 17:12.438 --> 17:14.660 they're open to a diplomatic solution , 17:14.660 --> 17:16.938 but they continue to forge ahead with 17:16.948 --> 17:20.529 these incursions into Lebanon . Is it 17:20.538 --> 17:23.208 the us view that it is productive for 17:23.218 --> 17:25.808 them to be continuing to carry out 17:25.818 --> 17:27.596 their military campaign against 17:27.596 --> 17:29.818 Hezbollah while you're trying to find a 17:29.818 --> 17:31.929 diplomatic solution . So as you heard 17:31.933 --> 17:33.711 me say a moment ago , look , we 17:33.711 --> 17:35.544 recognize that at times military 17:35.544 --> 17:37.711 pressure can enable diplomacy . That's 17:37.711 --> 17:40.044 true . That's true . I will say it also , 17:40.044 --> 17:42.211 it is also true that military pressure 17:42.211 --> 17:44.211 can lead to miscalculation , it can 17:44.211 --> 17:46.433 lead to unintended consequences . Um We 17:46.433 --> 17:48.544 are in conversation with Israel about 17:48.544 --> 17:50.489 all those , all of these factors , 17:50.489 --> 17:52.600 these are decisions that they have to 17:52.600 --> 17:54.711 make for themselves , no one else can 17:54.711 --> 17:56.655 make them for them . Um What we're 17:56.655 --> 17:56.489 going to continue to communicate to 17:56.500 --> 17:58.500 them is that while we support their 17:58.500 --> 18:00.444 right to defend themselves against 18:00.444 --> 18:02.333 terrorism , we support efforts to 18:02.333 --> 18:04.333 ensure that uh Israeli citizens can 18:04.333 --> 18:06.556 return to their homes . Ultimately , we 18:06.556 --> 18:08.722 believe a diplomatic resolution is the 18:08.722 --> 18:10.833 best way to accomplish that . And you 18:10.833 --> 18:13.056 won't say if the military pressure that 18:13.056 --> 18:15.167 they're applying now is productive or 18:15.167 --> 18:17.111 uh concerning and unproductive and 18:17.111 --> 18:19.167 could lead to a miscalculation . I'm 18:19.167 --> 18:21.333 not going to make an assessment . No , 18:21.333 --> 18:24.290 go ahead . Matthias , Sna Kasem went 18:24.300 --> 18:26.500 out and said today that they will not 18:26.540 --> 18:29.449 stop uh attacks , they will continue . 18:29.459 --> 18:31.515 But the Lebanese Prime Minister , he 18:31.515 --> 18:33.515 said we are ready after meeting the 18:33.515 --> 18:35.737 speaker , we are ready to implement the 18:35.737 --> 18:38.060 1701 . We are ready to send the army to 18:38.069 --> 18:41.069 the borders and uh elect a new 18:41.079 --> 18:43.280 president . I know there's a lot of 18:43.290 --> 18:45.234 things changing in Lebanon at this 18:45.234 --> 18:48.599 moment . But is there a room to avoid a 18:48.609 --> 18:52.130 military operation in Lebanon ? I mean , 18:52.140 --> 18:54.196 what , what are you asking for ? Are 18:54.196 --> 18:57.250 you asking now for Hezbollah to go and 18:57.260 --> 18:59.316 say we withdraw from the border ? We 18:59.316 --> 19:01.589 will implement the 1701 . So you can 19:01.599 --> 19:03.770 put pressure on the Israeli . Do you 19:03.780 --> 19:07.089 think there's a room with the Israeli 19:07.310 --> 19:10.479 government , this government to stop to 19:10.489 --> 19:13.239 avoid a ground operation ? We always 19:13.250 --> 19:15.028 believe that there is space for 19:15.028 --> 19:17.194 diplomacy and we are not going to give 19:17.194 --> 19:19.439 up on , on diplomacy in this instance 19:19.449 --> 19:21.338 as we never do . I will say we of 19:21.338 --> 19:23.005 course would welcome the full 19:23.005 --> 19:24.893 implementation of 1701 . We would 19:24.893 --> 19:26.782 welcome the Lebanese armed forces 19:26.782 --> 19:28.910 helping to enforce 1701 . We would 19:28.920 --> 19:31.305 welcome withdrawing from the border as 19:31.314 --> 19:33.954 they said , they would do when 1701 was 19:33.964 --> 19:36.242 passed and of course , never have done . 19:36.242 --> 19:38.297 So those are all steps that we would 19:38.297 --> 19:40.464 welcome . They would all be steps that 19:40.464 --> 19:42.464 would be important for deescalating 19:42.464 --> 19:44.575 tensions and finding a diplomatic way 19:44.575 --> 19:46.575 out of this conflict . And so we'll 19:46.575 --> 19:48.686 engage with Lebanon to see that those 19:48.686 --> 19:48.005 steps are implemented . But ultimately , 19:48.015 --> 19:50.015 those are things that we have heard 19:50.015 --> 19:52.237 promised before that ultimately haven't 19:52.237 --> 19:54.459 been , ultimately haven't proven true . 19:54.459 --> 19:56.515 Certainly , we would welcome them if 19:56.515 --> 20:00.400 they were in this case . Why , why have 20:00.410 --> 20:02.560 you then been providing the Lebanese 20:02.569 --> 20:05.530 armed forces with hundreds of millions , 20:05.540 --> 20:07.596 if not billions of dollars , if they 20:07.596 --> 20:09.818 haven't been doing what you want them ? 20:09.818 --> 20:12.199 Look , we continue to , to work to try 20:12.209 --> 20:14.376 to increase stability inside Lebanon . 20:15.189 --> 20:18.060 We have not given up on 1701 , but it's 20:18.069 --> 20:20.125 just a statement of fact that is not 20:20.125 --> 20:22.979 never been fully given up on the right . 20:23.079 --> 20:26.839 No , we have not . I'm sorry . Were you , 20:26.849 --> 20:28.960 were you finished ? So just to follow 20:28.979 --> 20:31.000 up on this , on that question , if 20:31.010 --> 20:33.121 you're not giving up on the laugh and 20:33.599 --> 20:35.900 the Israeli are targeting Hezbollah , 20:35.920 --> 20:39.729 but then how they are targeting them 20:39.739 --> 20:42.550 also is questionable . But the thing is 20:42.569 --> 20:44.890 regarding the infrastructure and the 20:44.900 --> 20:46.956 institutions in Lebanon , is there a 20:46.956 --> 20:49.550 kind of warning from the US government 20:49.560 --> 20:51.449 that they should not target , for 20:51.449 --> 20:54.180 example , the the airport , the port , 20:54.189 --> 20:57.839 the laf we absolutely do not want to 20:57.849 --> 21:01.099 see civilian infrastructure targeted um 21:01.849 --> 21:03.905 terrorist infrastructure , Hezbollah 21:03.905 --> 21:05.849 targets of course , are legitimate 21:05.849 --> 21:08.810 targets for uh uh the ID f just as 21:08.819 --> 21:10.708 America and other countries would 21:10.708 --> 21:12.708 strike terrorist organizations that 21:12.708 --> 21:14.930 target them . But we do not want to see 21:14.930 --> 21:14.599 civilians targeted . We do not want to 21:14.609 --> 21:16.942 see uh civilian infrastructure targeted . 21:17.099 --> 21:19.266 And one more question , uh The Israeli 21:19.266 --> 21:21.760 Prime Minister also said that he wants 21:21.770 --> 21:23.881 to change the face of the Middle East 21:23.881 --> 21:25.770 and he was addressing the Iranian 21:25.770 --> 21:28.420 people . So uh what do you read in this 21:28.430 --> 21:30.500 speech ? Because he , he made this 21:30.510 --> 21:33.239 speech before also his operations in 21:33.250 --> 21:35.500 Lebanon . So I have not seen his full 21:35.510 --> 21:37.566 remarks and I saw that he released a 21:37.566 --> 21:39.788 video today . I haven't watched them in 21:39.788 --> 21:42.010 full . So I'm a little bit reluctant to 21:42.010 --> 21:44.121 comment on them at this time . I just 21:44.121 --> 21:46.177 wanted to follow up on what you were 21:46.177 --> 21:46.000 saying a moment ago because you've 21:46.010 --> 21:49.430 spoken a lot about the security issues 21:49.439 --> 21:51.772 for both Israel and Lebanon and sort of , 21:51.772 --> 21:53.995 you know , across the border in a state 21:53.995 --> 21:55.995 on state sense . But what about how 21:55.995 --> 21:57.883 concerned are you about stability 21:57.883 --> 21:59.995 within Lebanon , both politically and 21:59.995 --> 22:02.217 socially , you know , we know that this 22:02.217 --> 22:04.050 is a country with a very fragile 22:04.050 --> 22:06.272 sectarian makeup . We've now had a huge 22:06.272 --> 22:08.383 shock to that given what the Israelis 22:08.383 --> 22:10.495 have done over the last week or two . 22:10.495 --> 22:12.717 And you know , which compounds a series 22:12.717 --> 22:14.717 of very significant shocks for that 22:14.717 --> 22:16.772 country over the last years from the 22:16.772 --> 22:18.772 financial crisis to the Beirut port 22:18.772 --> 22:20.772 explosion . And so on . So , what's 22:20.772 --> 22:22.883 your assessment on what all this does 22:22.883 --> 22:24.995 to Lebanon internally ? I think it is 22:24.995 --> 22:27.161 too early to say . And I'll go back to 22:27.161 --> 22:28.995 the answer that I gave . I don't 22:28.995 --> 22:31.050 remember whose question it was . The 22:31.050 --> 22:33.272 concern over Lebanon's stability is not 22:33.272 --> 22:35.495 something that just started last week . 22:35.495 --> 22:35.369 Right ? You look at the incidents that 22:35.380 --> 22:37.491 you spoke to . You , look at the fact 22:37.491 --> 22:39.324 that Hezbollah has prevented the 22:39.324 --> 22:41.269 appointment of a president for , I 22:41.269 --> 22:43.324 think it's around two years now . We 22:43.324 --> 22:45.436 have been greatly concerned about the 22:45.436 --> 22:47.547 stability of Lebanon . Uh in terms of 22:47.547 --> 22:49.769 what the events of the past week mean , 22:49.769 --> 22:51.824 I think it is far too early to say , 22:51.824 --> 22:54.410 but the exit of Hassan Nasrallah from 22:54.420 --> 22:57.069 the stage , um uh we believe is an 22:57.079 --> 22:59.135 unalloyed , good for the country and 22:59.135 --> 23:01.135 the region . It just is just a fact 23:01.135 --> 23:03.246 when you have a brutal terrorist with 23:03.246 --> 23:05.468 that much civilian blood on his hands , 23:05.468 --> 23:08.099 um uh no longer operating , that is a 23:08.109 --> 23:10.880 good outcome . Um And to follow up on 23:10.890 --> 23:12.946 the points about , I mean , you were 23:12.946 --> 23:15.589 asked a lot about your uh demands or 23:15.599 --> 23:17.377 your calls rather for a , for a 23:17.377 --> 23:19.543 ceasefire last week . But you did more 23:19.543 --> 23:21.710 than that because you were calling for 23:21.710 --> 23:23.710 restraint repeatedly and the US was 23:23.710 --> 23:25.766 leading the diplomatic charge at the 23:25.766 --> 23:27.877 United Nations on this . Um , what we 23:27.877 --> 23:30.155 have definitely not seen is restraints . 23:30.155 --> 23:32.266 Um And , and you talked about a cease 23:32.266 --> 23:34.543 fire involving two sides . But on this , 23:34.543 --> 23:36.766 we have seen a very sharp escalation by 23:36.766 --> 23:38.821 the Israelis . So your your call for 23:38.821 --> 23:40.932 restraint has failed . So we continue 23:40.932 --> 23:43.043 to call for a diplomatic resolution . 23:43.043 --> 23:44.890 But at the same time as I said , 23:45.010 --> 23:46.899 Hezbollah has continued to launch 23:46.899 --> 23:49.050 rockets that have kept Israeli 23:49.060 --> 23:51.338 civilians from returning to their home . 23:51.338 --> 23:53.504 And Israel absolutely along with any , 23:53.504 --> 23:55.616 along with every country in the world 23:55.616 --> 23:57.504 has a right to defend itself from 23:57.504 --> 23:59.616 terrorism . It also has a right to go 23:59.616 --> 24:01.838 after legitimate terrorist targets like 24:01.838 --> 24:03.893 Hassan Nasrallah and we support them 24:03.893 --> 24:06.130 taking those steps just as we have 24:06.140 --> 24:07.918 brought terrorists who targeted 24:07.918 --> 24:10.196 American citizens to justice over time . 24:10.196 --> 24:12.362 But that said we long term want to see 24:12.362 --> 24:14.473 a diplomatic resolution . That's what 24:14.473 --> 24:14.359 we're continuing to pursue . But it's 24:14.410 --> 24:16.521 just all those things were true . You 24:16.521 --> 24:18.688 know , we've seen this , the Hezbollah 24:18.688 --> 24:18.469 rocket fire for many , many months , 24:18.479 --> 24:20.646 what we've had in the last week or two 24:20.646 --> 24:22.868 is the killing of more than 1000 people 24:22.868 --> 24:24.812 according to Lebanese officials in 24:24.812 --> 24:26.812 these Israeli strikes , more than a 24:26.812 --> 24:28.923 million people displaced according to 24:28.923 --> 24:31.090 the United Nations . I mean , that's a 24:31.090 --> 24:33.090 huge game changing escalation . And 24:33.090 --> 24:34.812 last week you were calling for 24:34.812 --> 24:36.979 restraint . So I'm just sort of asking 24:36.979 --> 24:39.090 the question about whether or not you 24:39.090 --> 24:41.312 think you've got restraint . Well , all 24:41.312 --> 24:40.869 your calls were heeded . Let me just 24:40.880 --> 24:43.047 take a few things specifically when it 24:43.047 --> 24:45.380 comes to the death of Hassan , which is , 24:45.380 --> 24:47.269 I think the , the event that most 24:47.269 --> 24:49.269 people have have referred to as the 24:49.269 --> 24:51.491 most escalatory we support bringing him 24:51.491 --> 24:51.290 to justice . We think that ultimately 24:51.300 --> 24:53.300 is something that's good . We think 24:53.300 --> 24:55.522 that's ultimately something that's good 24:55.522 --> 24:57.744 for the country now . Yes , of course , 24:57.744 --> 24:57.079 we do not want to see any civilian 24:57.089 --> 24:59.260 harmed , uh , in that attack or in any 24:59.270 --> 25:01.326 other , but we support them bringing 25:01.326 --> 25:03.270 terrorists to justice . We support 25:03.270 --> 25:05.437 attacks on Hezbollah . But as I said , 25:05.437 --> 25:08.290 um , uh , at the beginning , this kind 25:08.300 --> 25:11.920 of activity can both enable diplomacy 25:11.930 --> 25:14.208 and it can also lead to miscalculation , 25:14.208 --> 25:16.486 it can lead to unintended consequences . 25:16.486 --> 25:18.374 And so we're going to continue to 25:18.374 --> 25:20.597 engage , to try to de escalate tensions 25:20.597 --> 25:22.486 to , to the best of our ability , 25:22.486 --> 25:24.208 ensure that it doesn't lead to 25:24.208 --> 25:25.874 miscalculation and unintended 25:25.874 --> 25:28.041 consequences . But ultimately , Israel 25:28.041 --> 25:30.263 is a sovereign country that is going to 25:30.263 --> 25:29.530 make these decisions for itself . And 25:29.540 --> 25:31.762 just on that point about displacement , 25:31.762 --> 25:33.929 I mean , I mentioned the U saying more 25:33.929 --> 25:35.984 than a million people in Lebanon . I 25:35.984 --> 25:35.589 mean , many of us are fleeing across 25:35.599 --> 25:39.160 the border into Syria . Are you happy ? 25:40.050 --> 25:42.217 I'll rephrase the question given the , 25:42.217 --> 25:44.439 given the way in which much of this was 25:44.439 --> 25:47.890 done involving , you know , uh warnings 25:47.900 --> 25:49.844 delivered by mobile phone from the 25:49.844 --> 25:51.789 Israelis for people to leave their 25:51.789 --> 25:53.900 homes in the middle of the night . Um 25:53.900 --> 25:56.109 for example , uh uh is this process in 25:56.119 --> 25:57.786 compliance with International 25:57.786 --> 25:59.952 Humanitarian law and the way it's been 25:59.952 --> 25:59.750 done ? So it's not the kind of 25:59.760 --> 26:01.704 assessment I can offer from here , 26:01.704 --> 26:03.927 obviously to make any to ever reach any 26:03.927 --> 26:05.816 of that type of assessment . It's 26:05.816 --> 26:07.982 something that uh officials have to do 26:07.982 --> 26:10.149 here looking at the full facts and not 26:10.149 --> 26:09.969 something I can offer a , a quick 26:09.979 --> 26:12.090 reaction immediately after the events 26:12.090 --> 26:16.030 transpire . Are you just how worried 26:16.040 --> 26:17.729 is this department about the 26:17.739 --> 26:20.890 humanitarian impact of 1 million people 26:20.900 --> 26:23.089 leaving Lebanon at this time ? Of 26:23.099 --> 26:24.988 course , we are worried about the 26:24.988 --> 26:26.988 humanitarian impact . We're worried 26:26.988 --> 26:29.155 about how that can be destabilizing as 26:29.155 --> 26:31.488 we've seen before during refugee crises . 26:31.488 --> 26:33.710 And we are engaged with partners in the 26:33.710 --> 26:33.170 region . We'll continue to be engaged 26:33.180 --> 26:36.930 to try to , to um uh uh deli 26:36.939 --> 26:38.717 to find the best way to deliver 26:38.717 --> 26:41.050 humanitarian assistance to those people . 26:41.050 --> 26:43.272 But ultimately , the best thing that we 26:43.272 --> 26:45.439 can do and that other countries in the 26:45.439 --> 26:47.550 world can do is find a dip diplomatic 26:47.550 --> 26:49.717 resolution that allows those people to 26:49.717 --> 26:49.310 return to their homes . These obviously 26:49.319 --> 26:51.486 are not the first people that have had 26:51.486 --> 26:53.708 to flee their homes as a result of this 26:53.708 --> 26:55.875 conflict . You've had somewhere around 26:55.875 --> 26:58.097 60 70,000 uh Israeli families . I think 26:58.099 --> 27:00.155 I've seen estimates somewhere around 27:00.155 --> 27:02.210 40,000 , I should say Israelis , not 27:02.210 --> 27:04.377 Israeli families , somewhere around 40 27:04.377 --> 27:06.488 or 50,000 Lebanese who've had to flee 27:06.488 --> 27:08.155 from their homes . So this is 27:08.155 --> 27:07.930 unfortunately a problem we've seen 27:07.939 --> 27:09.939 since the outset of this conflict , 27:09.939 --> 27:12.106 which is why the ultimate way to bring 27:12.106 --> 27:14.328 all those people home is to reach a dip 27:14.328 --> 27:16.383 diplomatic resolution . And is there 27:16.383 --> 27:18.550 any near term prospect of getting them 27:18.550 --> 27:20.606 the things that they need as they're 27:20.606 --> 27:20.290 fleeing and leaving their home . It's 27:20.300 --> 27:22.356 something that we're working on with 27:22.356 --> 27:24.633 humanitarian organizations . Obviously , 27:24.633 --> 27:26.689 we're in the early days of , of this 27:26.689 --> 27:26.420 humanitarian situation , but we are in 27:26.430 --> 27:28.652 contact with our partners in the region 27:28.652 --> 27:30.763 and humanitarian organizations at the 27:30.763 --> 27:32.708 UN and elsewhere about how to best 27:32.708 --> 27:34.652 provide humanitarian assistance to 27:34.652 --> 27:34.435 those people ? And are you worried 27:34.444 --> 27:37.665 about um pulling resources from those 27:37.675 --> 27:39.944 who have been displaced in Gaza as a 27:39.954 --> 27:42.694 result of this mounting humanitarian 27:42.704 --> 27:44.704 problem ? So that would always be a 27:44.704 --> 27:46.815 concern . But what we would always in 27:46.815 --> 27:48.704 this type of situation as happens 27:48.704 --> 27:51.037 whenever there is a humanitarian crisis , 27:51.037 --> 27:53.260 anywhere in the world that you don't um 27:53.260 --> 27:55.315 uh uh any anywhere in the world is , 27:55.315 --> 27:57.537 we'll look to identify if necessary new 27:57.537 --> 27:59.204 sources of funding to provide 27:59.204 --> 28:01.426 humanitarian assistance to people who , 28:01.426 --> 28:03.593 who need it . You said that Israel has 28:03.593 --> 28:05.648 indicated that the ground operations 28:05.648 --> 28:07.760 are limited at this time that doesn't 28:07.760 --> 28:09.815 preclude a ground invasion and there 28:09.815 --> 28:11.926 are experts inside and outside the US 28:11.926 --> 28:13.871 government that say Israel appears 28:13.871 --> 28:16.037 poised for a ground invasion . Is that 28:16.037 --> 28:18.260 not what you see ? So I'm just going to 28:18.260 --> 28:20.371 speak to what our understanding is of 28:20.371 --> 28:22.593 their operations at this time . I'm not 28:22.593 --> 28:24.704 going to speak to what steps they may 28:24.704 --> 28:24.469 or may not take in the future , they'll 28:24.479 --> 28:26.701 have to speak for themselves . And if I 28:26.701 --> 28:28.535 could follow up on what you were 28:28.535 --> 28:30.479 talking about earlier Netanyahu is 28:30.479 --> 28:33.459 actually expanding the war . So despite 28:33.469 --> 28:35.979 us calls for diplomacy , as you 28:35.989 --> 28:38.100 mentioned earlier , cease fire , he's 28:38.100 --> 28:40.267 expanding it not just into Lebanon but 28:40.267 --> 28:42.430 also into Yemen . Is it safe to say 28:42.439 --> 28:45.369 that he's simply ignoring us concern ? 28:45.380 --> 28:49.199 So let me take a little issue with the 28:49.660 --> 28:52.319 way you frame the question . Israel did 28:52.329 --> 28:55.410 not attack Hezbollah first . Israel did 28:55.420 --> 28:57.640 not attack the Houthis first . In both 28:57.650 --> 29:00.349 cases , those were responses by the 29:00.359 --> 29:02.415 government of Israel to attacks from 29:02.415 --> 29:04.303 terrorist organizations . So they 29:04.303 --> 29:06.359 struck Hezbollah after taking months 29:06.359 --> 29:08.581 and months of rocket fire and last week 29:08.581 --> 29:11.079 missile fire drone fire from Hezbollah 29:11.209 --> 29:13.209 when it comes to the Houthis , they 29:13.209 --> 29:15.098 have been on the receiving end of 29:15.098 --> 29:17.209 attacks including in recent days from 29:17.209 --> 29:16.760 the houthis that they were responding 29:16.770 --> 29:18.937 to . So they like every country in the 29:18.937 --> 29:21.159 world have a right to defend themselves 29:21.159 --> 29:23.326 from terrorism . Now , the way they do 29:23.326 --> 29:25.492 it matters ensuring that they do so in 29:25.492 --> 29:27.381 a way that doesn't uh that avoids 29:27.381 --> 29:29.329 miscalculation and doesn't um uh 29:29.339 --> 29:31.506 needlessly increase tensions . That is 29:31.506 --> 29:33.617 the type of thing we will continue to 29:33.617 --> 29:35.839 uh be in conversation with them about . 29:35.839 --> 29:37.839 But I , I think we ought to just be 29:37.839 --> 29:40.117 clear about the facts of what happened . 29:40.117 --> 29:42.061 Sure . But I mean , you , you have 29:42.061 --> 29:44.339 mentioned that the US has co restraint . 29:44.339 --> 29:46.506 I mean , have you seen any restraint ? 29:46.506 --> 29:49.760 So um I'm gonna just uh go back to what 29:49.770 --> 29:52.339 I have uh spoken to which is we want to 29:52.349 --> 29:54.550 see a diplomatic resolution . But when 29:54.560 --> 29:56.959 it comes to restraint , we also support 29:56.969 --> 29:59.191 Israel's right to defend itself against 29:59.191 --> 30:01.413 terrorism . If the United States was on 30:01.413 --> 30:03.247 the receiving end of a terrorist 30:03.247 --> 30:05.413 organization launching rockets at us , 30:05.413 --> 30:07.580 we would defend ourselves against that 30:07.580 --> 30:09.525 terrorist organization if that was 30:09.525 --> 30:11.636 Hezbollah . If that was the houthis , 30:11.636 --> 30:13.858 if that was Hamas , I can guarantee you 30:13.858 --> 30:13.540 those are steps that we would take . 30:13.550 --> 30:15.550 Those are steps that just about any 30:15.550 --> 30:17.661 country in the world would take . Now 30:17.661 --> 30:19.859 the way they do it matters , the fact 30:19.869 --> 30:21.591 that they need to be smart and 30:21.591 --> 30:23.480 strategic matters and we're gonna 30:23.480 --> 30:25.536 continue to talk with them about how 30:25.536 --> 30:27.591 best to accomplish those goals , but 30:27.591 --> 30:29.480 they absolutely have the right to 30:29.480 --> 30:29.250 defend themselves against the ongoing 30:29.260 --> 30:32.569 attacks from terrorism . One bit of 30:32.579 --> 30:35.439 clarification here are the Houthis 30:35.709 --> 30:38.670 currently designated FTO . They are not 30:38.680 --> 30:40.609 a designated FTO , but they 30:42.349 --> 30:44.293 isn't one of the first things this 30:44.293 --> 30:46.650 administration did when it came into 30:46.660 --> 30:48.771 office to remove the Houthis . If you 30:48.890 --> 30:51.057 recall , we have designated them under 30:51.057 --> 30:54.790 another , another designation that and , 30:54.920 --> 30:56.976 and continue and continue under this 30:56.976 --> 30:59.142 other designation to refer to them and 30:59.142 --> 31:01.420 treat them as a terrorist organization . 31:01.949 --> 31:03.410 Just a 31:06.739 --> 31:08.683 Lebanon . And I will have one more 31:08.683 --> 31:10.890 question on the region . Um You said 31:10.900 --> 31:12.733 Israelis told you that this is a 31:12.733 --> 31:15.599 limited operation . Can you elaborate 31:15.609 --> 31:18.119 more on that ? Like what is , what , 31:18.130 --> 31:20.241 how do you define a limited operation 31:20.250 --> 31:22.583 and how do you define a major operation ? 31:22.583 --> 31:24.910 So I am uh this is not a us definition , 31:24.920 --> 31:27.142 this is what they have informed us that 31:27.142 --> 31:29.253 they are currently conducting , which 31:29.253 --> 31:29.079 are limited operations targeting 31:29.939 --> 31:31.828 Hezbollah infrastructure near the 31:31.828 --> 31:33.772 border . I will let them speak for 31:33.772 --> 31:35.828 themselves about what the operations 31:35.828 --> 31:39.410 actually are and that is our 31:39.439 --> 31:41.661 understanding again , they should speak 31:41.661 --> 31:44.010 to that not us . Yeah . And uh today 31:44.020 --> 31:46.479 marks the fourth week uh since the 31:46.489 --> 31:48.545 killing of Turkish American activist 31:48.560 --> 31:51.540 Eishin Eg by Israeli forces in the West 31:51.550 --> 31:53.900 Bank . Um Do you have any updates on 31:53.910 --> 31:55.920 the investigation ? So the we were 31:55.930 --> 31:58.949 engaged uh in recent days with the 31:58.959 --> 32:01.181 government of Israel about exactly this 32:01.181 --> 32:03.237 question and um we informed that the 32:03.237 --> 32:05.292 full criminal investigation is still 32:05.292 --> 32:07.449 ongoing and have they given you any 32:07.459 --> 32:09.890 timeline ? Uh I'm not aware of any time 32:09.900 --> 32:11.622 that's possible given to other 32:11.622 --> 32:13.622 officials , but I'm not aware of 11 32:13.622 --> 32:15.456 more on this . Uh 103 U Congress 32:15.456 --> 32:17.678 members have sent , they said they sent 32:17.678 --> 32:19.567 a letter to Secretary Billing and 32:19.567 --> 32:21.344 President Biden and the justice 32:21.344 --> 32:23.456 department calling for an independent 32:23.456 --> 32:25.789 investigation into the killing of Aisha . 32:25.789 --> 32:27.789 Can you confirm if you receive this 32:27.789 --> 32:29.567 letter ? And uh do you have any 32:29.567 --> 32:31.678 response to them ? So , I uh I'm sure 32:31.678 --> 32:33.789 we have received the letter , I'm not 32:33.789 --> 32:33.719 aware , but I'm sure we have and we 32:33.729 --> 32:35.729 will respond to them uh in due time 32:35.729 --> 32:37.840 through a normal process as we always 32:37.840 --> 32:39.896 do . But when it comes to um whether 32:39.896 --> 32:41.618 there needs to be a subsequent 32:41.618 --> 32:43.618 investigation . We've made clear we 32:43.618 --> 32:45.285 want to see the full criminal 32:45.285 --> 32:47.451 investigation play out first before we 32:47.451 --> 32:49.729 make any other decisions on the ground . 32:50.160 --> 32:52.650 You don't want to define it . But what 32:52.660 --> 32:54.604 you are against , I mean , are you 32:54.604 --> 32:57.489 against the Israelis staying in South 32:57.500 --> 32:59.489 Lebanon ? Are you against another 32:59.500 --> 33:02.310 occupation ? I know you don't want to 33:02.380 --> 33:04.920 define . We want to see a diplomatic 33:04.930 --> 33:07.310 resolution period . I leave it at that . 33:08.119 --> 33:10.599 Yeah . Thank you . Switch to Ukraine if 33:10.619 --> 33:12.452 I may , you guys put out a joint 33:12.452 --> 33:14.520 statement on Ukraine , Russia's 33:14.530 --> 33:17.670 annexation of portion of Ukrainian 33:17.680 --> 33:21.109 regions , some of them was under 33:21.119 --> 33:23.230 constant attack . They attack all the 33:23.230 --> 33:25.341 region . We give , you just expand on 33:25.341 --> 33:27.175 that and don't do that . Ukraine 33:27.175 --> 33:29.397 actually could be able to prevent those 33:29.397 --> 33:31.770 attacks if it had permission to strike 33:31.849 --> 33:33.793 back . So I don't have anything to 33:33.793 --> 33:37.270 expand on the statement that we put out . 33:37.400 --> 33:39.678 But of course , Ukraine , first of all , 33:39.678 --> 33:41.900 Ukraine does not need our permission to 33:41.900 --> 33:44.011 strike back against Russian targets . 33:44.011 --> 33:46.178 Um They're a sovereign country and can 33:46.178 --> 33:49.130 use um the weapons that they build on 33:49.140 --> 33:51.196 their own of which are many , if you 33:51.196 --> 33:53.418 look at the programs that they have put 33:53.418 --> 33:55.584 in place over the last year . And then 33:55.584 --> 33:55.390 when you look at the weapons that we 33:55.400 --> 33:57.344 have provided to them , we've made 33:57.344 --> 33:59.511 clear that they can use them to strike 33:59.511 --> 34:01.733 back against Russian targets across the 34:01.733 --> 34:03.900 border that are launching attacks . Um 34:03.900 --> 34:05.939 So Ukraine does have um uh uh an 34:05.949 --> 34:08.500 enormous amount of material to defend 34:08.510 --> 34:10.454 itself . We always look at whether 34:10.454 --> 34:12.621 there are additional tools that we can 34:12.621 --> 34:14.454 provide them . If you notice the 34:14.454 --> 34:16.677 announcement that the president made on 34:16.677 --> 34:15.770 Thursday , we are providing them an 34:15.780 --> 34:17.699 additional $8 billion in security 34:17.709 --> 34:19.653 assistance and we will continue to 34:19.653 --> 34:21.376 support them if you're ok with 34:21.376 --> 34:23.487 Ukrainians striking back , then , why 34:23.487 --> 34:25.709 not let them strike ? So , Alex , first 34:25.709 --> 34:27.765 of all , I'm just going to say again 34:27.765 --> 34:29.376 that you and I have had this 34:29.376 --> 34:31.209 conversation before about weapon 34:31.209 --> 34:33.376 systems that or we or tactics that you 34:33.376 --> 34:36.774 presented to me as um the one 34:36.985 --> 34:39.152 magic capability that would change the 34:39.152 --> 34:41.207 face of the conflict . And I think I 34:41.207 --> 34:43.429 have always made clear that that is not 34:43.429 --> 34:45.652 how we see it , that we look at all the 34:45.652 --> 34:45.604 capabilities and all the tactics and 34:45.614 --> 34:47.670 all the support that we provide . Uh 34:47.670 --> 34:50.229 Ukraine in totality and look at how 34:50.239 --> 34:52.510 when we approve any new weapon system 34:52.520 --> 34:54.742 or any new tactic , we look at how it's 34:54.742 --> 34:56.909 going to affect the entire battlefield 34:56.909 --> 34:58.798 and Ukraine's entire strategy and 34:58.798 --> 35:00.964 that's what we'll continue to do . Let 35:00.964 --> 35:03.270 me go ahead . Thank you . Um What we're 35:03.290 --> 35:05.290 seeing , Lebanon , we saw a similar 35:05.290 --> 35:07.401 pattern with uh with regards to Rafah 35:07.405 --> 35:09.614 first , the UF saying us , excuse me 35:09.625 --> 35:11.736 saying that they wouldn't want to see 35:11.736 --> 35:13.792 Israel conducting major operations . 35:13.792 --> 35:15.958 Then Israel going ahead with what they 35:15.958 --> 35:18.181 called limited operations and then this 35:18.181 --> 35:20.292 continued tolerance of sort of day to 35:20.292 --> 35:23.014 day attacks that has led to over 44% of 35:23.024 --> 35:25.024 all buildings in Rafah being either 35:25.024 --> 35:26.913 destroyed or damaged according to 35:26.913 --> 35:29.135 satellite photos , which is to say that 35:29.135 --> 35:28.614 there might not have been a major 35:28.625 --> 35:30.949 operation in Rafah , but there was 35:30.959 --> 35:33.070 cumulative attacks that led to a good 35:33.070 --> 35:35.237 deal of destruction . So how does this 35:35.237 --> 35:37.126 President of Rafah Portend for Le 35:37.126 --> 35:38.848 Lebanon ? So every conflict is 35:38.848 --> 35:41.100 different . But if you look at what um 35:41.129 --> 35:44.030 we continue to engage with Israel about 35:44.040 --> 35:46.096 when it comes to Lebanon is ensuring 35:46.096 --> 35:49.510 that they have the ability to attack 35:50.469 --> 35:52.540 terrorist targets , terrorist 35:52.550 --> 35:54.217 infrastructure to a terrorist 35:54.217 --> 35:56.439 organization . But ultimately , we want 35:56.439 --> 35:58.661 to see a diplomatic resolution was that 35:58.661 --> 36:00.883 the case with , for instance , not just 36:00.883 --> 36:02.994 we've never wanted to hold on , we've 36:02.994 --> 36:02.290 never wanted to see a diplomatic 36:02.300 --> 36:05.280 resolution with Hamas . Ok . Well , 36:05.669 --> 36:07.669 what about the c we wanted to see a 36:07.669 --> 36:09.891 cease fire but we have always been , we 36:09.891 --> 36:11.780 have always been committed to the 36:11.780 --> 36:13.891 destruction of Hamas . We did want to 36:13.891 --> 36:15.947 see a ceasefire , but we have always 36:15.947 --> 36:15.350 made clear that we wanted to see a 36:15.360 --> 36:17.929 different authority moving forward in 36:17.939 --> 36:21.550 governance of Gaza . Ok . But so for 36:21.560 --> 36:23.679 instance , other un satellite image 36:23.689 --> 36:26.479 shows that 66% of Gaza structures have 36:26.489 --> 36:28.959 been damaged . And you earlier today 36:28.969 --> 36:31.191 said that the US supports the targeting 36:31.191 --> 36:33.080 of terrorist infrastructure , not 36:33.080 --> 36:35.191 civilian infrastructure . Does the US 36:35.191 --> 36:37.191 believe 66% of Gaza's buildings are 36:37.191 --> 36:39.413 terrorist ? Absolutely not , absolutely 36:39.413 --> 36:41.636 not , which is why we have been engaged 36:41.636 --> 36:43.636 to try to reach a cease fire to end 36:43.636 --> 36:43.179 that conflict , which is why we have 36:43.189 --> 36:45.522 been pushing for a cease fire to months . 36:45.522 --> 36:47.745 And I wish that Hamas would come to the 36:47.745 --> 36:50.022 table and work with us on a cease fire . 36:50.022 --> 36:52.022 As you saw , as you heard me saying 36:52.022 --> 36:54.022 earlier , Hamas has been absent for 36:54.022 --> 36:55.911 weeks , won't even respond to the 36:55.911 --> 36:58.078 mediators putting forward ideas asking 36:58.078 --> 37:00.078 whether they would agree to a cease 37:00.078 --> 37:02.300 fire or not . Look , you can talk about 37:02.300 --> 37:04.467 Israel and the culpability that has uh 37:04.467 --> 37:06.689 that Israel has and the tough decisions 37:06.689 --> 37:06.229 that Israel needs to make . And it's 37:06.239 --> 37:08.295 absolutely true that Israel needs to 37:08.295 --> 37:10.461 make tough decisions to get to a cease 37:10.461 --> 37:10.209 fire . But the way out of this conflict 37:10.219 --> 37:13.320 is a cease fire and it Hamas that's 37:13.330 --> 37:15.274 missing in action right now . That 37:15.274 --> 37:17.386 won't come to the table to talk about 37:17.386 --> 37:17.219 one . And then finally , a few weeks 37:17.229 --> 37:19.396 ago , the US ambassador to the UN said 37:19.396 --> 37:21.062 quote , I do not believe that 37:21.062 --> 37:23.118 Palestinians as they exist right now 37:23.118 --> 37:24.951 have all the elements to give it 37:24.951 --> 37:27.062 statehood . What do you think ? Which 37:27.062 --> 37:29.285 elements are Palestinians missing ? And 37:29.285 --> 37:31.062 do you think the US continual , 37:31.062 --> 37:33.229 unconditional support to bomb Gaza and 37:33.229 --> 37:35.285 Palestine supports recieving those ? 37:35.285 --> 37:34.949 I'll give you one of the elements that 37:34.959 --> 37:36.848 is missing , which is Palestinian 37:36.848 --> 37:39.070 Authority , governance of Gaza . You've 37:39.070 --> 37:41.292 seen Hamas in charge of Gaza going back 37:41.292 --> 37:43.350 months or going back years we have 37:43.360 --> 37:45.344 tried to reach uh or we have put 37:45.354 --> 37:47.935 forward ideas for Palestinian Authority , 37:47.945 --> 37:49.945 governance of Gaza and ultimately a 37:49.945 --> 37:52.167 unified Gaza and the West Bank . That's 37:52.167 --> 37:53.778 as something that would be a 37:53.778 --> 37:55.612 prerequisite to a state . That's 37:55.612 --> 37:55.185 something that's obviously not 37:55.195 --> 37:57.251 happening right now . It's something 37:57.251 --> 37:59.362 that we'll continue to push for . And 37:59.362 --> 37:58.445 then one thing , I'm sorry , thank you . 37:58.594 --> 38:02.040 One last week , the Israeli Minister of 38:02.050 --> 38:04.989 Education Yoav Kish said that Lebanon 38:05.000 --> 38:07.167 will be annihilated and there is quote 38:07.167 --> 38:09.056 no difference between Lebanon and 38:09.056 --> 38:11.167 Hezbollah . What's your response to a 38:11.167 --> 38:13.278 person tasked with educating Israelis 38:13.278 --> 38:15.444 saying such a thing ? Well , obviously 38:15.444 --> 38:15.429 that statement is not true and those 38:15.439 --> 38:17.661 comments are completely inappropriate . 38:18.600 --> 38:20.656 You said the Palestinian Authority , 38:20.656 --> 38:23.399 one of one of the defects or 38:23.409 --> 38:26.169 shortcomings , the P A doesn't have 38:26.179 --> 38:28.290 control over Gaza . Do you think that 38:28.290 --> 38:30.512 the P A has effective governing control 38:30.512 --> 38:32.623 over the West Bank ? It has effective 38:32.623 --> 38:32.429 governing control over parts of the 38:32.439 --> 38:34.550 West Bank ? Certainly not all of it , 38:36.290 --> 38:39.000 some of it , some of which parts , the 38:39.010 --> 38:41.066 parts that is in control of and then 38:41.066 --> 38:43.066 there are other parts where Israeli 38:43.066 --> 38:45.010 maintains security control . So it 38:45.010 --> 38:47.121 certainly does with parts of the West 38:47.121 --> 38:50.449 Bank in Lebanon during the past week , 38:50.459 --> 38:52.292 Israel targeted many residential 38:52.292 --> 38:54.459 buildings and heavy airstrikes and one 38:54.459 --> 38:56.737 of them , 33 people were killed in Bea . 38:56.737 --> 38:58.792 Israel always is claiming that there 38:58.792 --> 39:01.015 are Hezbollah members there . Um How is 39:01.015 --> 39:03.015 the US not condemning or finding it 39:03.015 --> 39:02.760 normal that a whole building can be 39:02.770 --> 39:04.937 targeted only for one person , even if 39:04.937 --> 39:07.060 kids are being torn to pieces and 39:07.070 --> 39:09.739 sometimes we don't see a Hezbollah 39:09.750 --> 39:11.972 member after , in that building , after 39:11.972 --> 39:14.250 it was like , uh , hit by an airstrike . 39:14.250 --> 39:16.083 So we don't want to see a single 39:16.083 --> 39:18.689 civilian casualty in Lebanon . Yeah , 39:18.699 --> 39:20.755 we are seeing them as we see them in 39:20.755 --> 39:22.977 other conflicts and it is a tragedy and 39:22.977 --> 39:24.977 it is why we are trying to pursue a 39:24.977 --> 39:27.255 diplomatic resolution to this conflict . 39:27.255 --> 39:29.255 Um , this conflict never would have 39:29.255 --> 39:31.477 started again if you want to talk about 39:31.477 --> 39:33.588 culpability . If Hezbollah on October 39:33.588 --> 39:36.149 8th hadn't started attacking Israel , I 39:36.159 --> 39:38.381 know , but it's important to understand 39:38.381 --> 39:40.548 why Israel is defending itself against 39:40.548 --> 39:42.715 these attacks . It's because Hezbollah 39:42.715 --> 39:44.826 started a war started a conflict with 39:44.826 --> 39:46.992 Israel on October 8th . Had nothing to 39:46.992 --> 39:48.992 do with Gaza . Nothing at all to do 39:48.992 --> 39:51.103 with Gaza . They started the conflict 39:51.103 --> 39:53.326 and Israel has a right to defend itself 39:53.326 --> 39:52.889 against that terrorism . Now , that 39:52.899 --> 39:56.540 doesn't mean that every civilian death 39:56.550 --> 39:58.717 is a tragedy . Of course , it is . And 39:58.717 --> 40:00.883 Israel needs to do everything possible 40:00.883 --> 40:02.994 to minimize civilian casualties . But 40:02.994 --> 40:02.729 the reason why this conflict , let me 40:02.739 --> 40:04.961 just let me just before you interrupt . 40:04.961 --> 40:07.128 Just let me finish the reason why this 40:07.128 --> 40:07.010 conflict is happening in the first 40:07.020 --> 40:09.239 place is because for 12 months , 40:10.000 --> 40:12.260 Hezbollah has been attacking Israel 12 40:12.270 --> 40:14.437 months and has been unwilling to cease 40:14.439 --> 40:16.550 those attacks . And that's why Israel 40:16.550 --> 40:18.383 is defending itself . Yeah , but 40:18.383 --> 40:20.606 they're not doing , they , they are not 40:20.606 --> 40:22.772 doing a better job . We saw it in Gaza 40:22.772 --> 40:22.770 and we're seeing it again in Lebanon , 40:23.020 --> 40:25.100 there's always a lot of civilian 40:25.110 --> 40:27.332 casualties . There are always kids that 40:27.332 --> 40:29.277 are being targeted and aid workers 40:29.277 --> 40:29.199 being targeted . So they're not doing 40:29.209 --> 40:31.320 their best job . They absolutely need 40:31.320 --> 40:33.098 to do more to minimize civilian 40:33.098 --> 40:35.719 casualties . And ultimately , that's 40:35.729 --> 40:37.507 why we want to see a diplomatic 40:37.507 --> 40:39.618 resolution to the conflict is because 40:39.618 --> 40:41.729 not just the destabilizing effects on 40:41.729 --> 40:43.951 the region , but the terrible toll that 40:43.951 --> 40:45.896 this war produces for civilians in 40:45.896 --> 40:48.007 Lebanon that's produced for civilians 40:48.007 --> 40:49.785 in Gaza . And of course that it 40:49.785 --> 40:51.896 produced on October 7th for civilians 40:51.896 --> 40:53.896 inside Israel . Thank you very much 40:53.896 --> 40:56.500 Matt . Uh in Pakistan , this doughnut 40:56.510 --> 40:58.510 shop has become very popular by the 40:58.510 --> 41:00.621 name of Crusty's because its employee 41:00.621 --> 41:03.219 had called the Chief Justice of the 41:03.229 --> 41:05.709 Supreme Court of Pakistan that uh shame 41:05.719 --> 41:08.229 on you . Um My question is , do you 41:08.239 --> 41:09.850 hear these things ? I mean , 41:09.850 --> 41:11.906 spokesperson , you see globally , do 41:11.906 --> 41:13.795 you see countries where the chief 41:13.795 --> 41:16.179 justices are called ? Uh shame on you . 41:16.580 --> 41:20.020 I am not fully tracking uh donut shop , 41:20.030 --> 41:21.974 the latest doughnut shop news from 41:21.974 --> 41:23.979 Pakistan , I will admit . So um 41:26.320 --> 41:29.610 uh not , not , I'm not tracking 41:29.620 --> 41:31.731 northern Virginia donut news either , 41:31.731 --> 41:33.842 but I'm happy to be educated . I love 41:33.842 --> 41:35.820 donuts . So sour cream doughnuts 41:35.830 --> 41:37.608 especially want to bring in the 41:37.608 --> 41:39.899 briefing room after after the three 41:39.909 --> 41:42.159 pillars of the states that have gone in 41:42.169 --> 41:44.113 Pakistan . That's why I was asking 41:44.113 --> 41:46.729 about it . But uh uh KP , the province 41:46.739 --> 41:49.219 which I belong to and have the 41:49.229 --> 41:51.540 newspaper since 40 years . Its chief 41:51.550 --> 41:54.100 minister in a statement yesterday said 41:54.439 --> 41:56.439 to the Federal Government of Shabaz 41:56.439 --> 41:59.909 Sharif uh after the protest was 41:59.919 --> 42:02.290 interrupted and stuff , uh that if next 42:02.300 --> 42:04.689 time you shoot us with one bullet , 42:04.699 --> 42:06.921 we're gonna shoot you with 10 bullets . 42:07.010 --> 42:09.989 Um Does these kind of statements worry 42:10.000 --> 42:12.790 the US at all about the 42:13.879 --> 42:16.570 situation ? Uh So I wasn't aware of 42:16.580 --> 42:18.747 that statement until you brought to my 42:18.747 --> 42:20.858 attention . I'd want to see it in its 42:20.858 --> 42:20.830 full context before I commented , let 42:20.840 --> 42:22.896 me let me because I'm running out of 42:22.896 --> 42:25.310 time . Thank you so much , Matt . I 42:25.320 --> 42:27.790 have three short questions on 42:27.800 --> 42:30.750 Bangladesh issue . Given Noel Laura and 42:30.760 --> 42:32.538 chief advisor to the Bangladesh 42:32.538 --> 42:35.850 government , Mohammad Yu , recent 42:35.860 --> 42:38.310 acknowledgement of meticulously 42:38.320 --> 42:40.590 designed conspiracy leading to 42:40.600 --> 42:43.050 political change in Bangladesh , as he 42:43.060 --> 42:45.429 said at the Clinton Global Initiative 42:45.439 --> 42:48.030 annual meeting . It's amazingly 42:48.040 --> 42:50.879 meticulously designed thing . Nothing 42:50.889 --> 42:53.219 happened by chance . My question is 42:53.590 --> 42:56.409 what shall be the US government stand 42:56.419 --> 42:59.129 on home to hold responsible for killing 42:59.139 --> 43:01.689 of hundreds of people in Bangladesh 43:01.699 --> 43:03.921 from human rights . We think there need 43:03.921 --> 43:05.866 to be full investigations into the 43:05.866 --> 43:07.921 civilians who lost their life during 43:07.921 --> 43:10.032 the protests and the crackdown on the 43:10.032 --> 43:12.320 protests in recent months and there 43:12.330 --> 43:14.330 needs to be full accountability for 43:14.330 --> 43:16.608 anyone responsible . Thank you so much . 43:16.608 --> 43:18.497 And there are reports of violence 43:18.497 --> 43:20.386 involving the use of armed forces 43:20.386 --> 43:23.290 against workers in Ashia area near 43:23.419 --> 43:25.969 Dhaka . These casualties reported also 43:25.979 --> 43:28.540 given reference in 2014 Chairman of the 43:28.550 --> 43:31.169 US State Committee on Foreign Relations , 43:31.179 --> 43:34.010 Robert Menendez said on the first 43:34.020 --> 43:36.310 anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy 43:36.320 --> 43:38.376 that Western countries would not buy 43:38.376 --> 43:41.209 clothes that are stained with the blood 43:41.219 --> 43:43.441 of Bangladeshi workers . Given the US a 43:43.441 --> 43:45.909 long standing advocacy for labor rights 43:45.919 --> 43:48.086 and peaceful protests . Does the State 43:48.086 --> 43:49.919 Department have any comments and 43:49.919 --> 43:52.030 concerns regarding this ? Let me take 43:52.030 --> 43:54.197 that one back and get an answer . Last 43:54.197 --> 43:56.086 question on press on Bangladesh , 43:56.086 --> 43:57.919 several prominent journalists in 43:57.919 --> 43:59.919 Bangladesh including Shakil Ahmed F 44:00.239 --> 44:03.340 Arua Muzamil , Ha Babu Shamal Da and 44:03.360 --> 44:06.179 Mahmud Rahman are reportedly being held 44:06.189 --> 44:08.639 in custody without bail . Given the 44:08.649 --> 44:10.871 importance of press freedom as a pillar 44:10.871 --> 44:12.639 of democracy . Does the State 44:12.649 --> 44:15.199 Department Department have any concern 44:15.209 --> 44:17.169 on comments regarding the current 44:17.179 --> 44:19.360 situation in Bangladesh ? We want to 44:19.370 --> 44:21.592 see press freedoms upheld in Bangladesh 44:21.592 --> 44:23.703 and of course across the world in the 44:23.703 --> 44:26.449 back . Thank you . Did you get an 44:26.590 --> 44:28.812 answer to the question ? No , I have to 44:28.812 --> 44:30.923 follow up with you on it for the last 44:30.923 --> 44:32.979 few hours . Israel has been striking 44:32.979 --> 44:35.201 not only in Dhi the suburbs but also in 44:35.201 --> 44:37.423 Ka which is inside Beirut for the first 44:37.423 --> 44:39.570 time . An area called that it's a 44:39.580 --> 44:41.959 connection point to the airport where 44:41.969 --> 44:43.969 there is many foreigners , not just 44:43.969 --> 44:45.913 Lebanese people , people from many 44:45.913 --> 44:47.969 sects . So it's not just Hezbollah , 44:47.969 --> 44:49.858 are you concerned about this more 44:49.858 --> 44:52.080 recent strike ? And is it time to ask , 44:52.080 --> 44:54.302 uh are you coordinate with Israel about 44:54.302 --> 44:56.800 whether what is a red line , what is 44:56.810 --> 44:59.032 not a red line where to strike and bomb 44:59.032 --> 45:01.254 because there is us citizens in Lebanon 45:01.254 --> 45:03.477 and that's an area frequently . So I've 45:03.477 --> 45:05.699 seen reports that strike , I don't have 45:05.699 --> 45:07.921 any further information about it . So I 45:07.921 --> 45:07.000 wouldn't want to comment on detail . 45:07.010 --> 45:09.177 But as I said earlier , of course , we 45:09.177 --> 45:11.010 did not want to see any civilian 45:11.010 --> 45:13.121 targets , any civilian infrastructure 45:13.121 --> 45:12.949 targeted in any way we go to Nick and 45:13.469 --> 45:16.020 there's a reporting , the US will not 45:16.030 --> 45:17.919 seek another term on the UN Human 45:17.919 --> 45:20.141 Rights Council . Is that accurate ? And 45:20.141 --> 45:23.639 so it is accurate . We decided not to 45:23.649 --> 45:25.750 seek another Human rights Council 45:26.159 --> 45:27.992 another spot on the Human Rights 45:27.992 --> 45:30.159 Council this time just because we were 45:30.189 --> 45:32.300 with our allies about the best way to 45:32.300 --> 45:34.356 move forward . There are three seats 45:34.356 --> 45:33.820 available for countries that were 45:33.830 --> 45:35.830 interested . We looked at the other 45:35.830 --> 45:37.886 countries that were running for this 45:37.886 --> 45:40.108 spot , uh Spain Iceland , Switzerland , 45:40.108 --> 45:42.219 all of them are countries with a very 45:42.219 --> 45:44.163 strong record of support for human 45:44.163 --> 45:46.386 rights . We thought they would could uh 45:46.386 --> 45:48.608 carry the flag forward . Uh But we will 45:48.608 --> 45:50.774 engage , uh we will continue to remain 45:50.774 --> 45:53.239 engaged on um uh human rights issues 45:53.250 --> 45:55.361 and are currently slated to run again 45:55.361 --> 45:57.679 in 2028 that we're out for today .