Innocent Victims Confirmed in Israeli Hostage Rescue Mission by White House
Jake Sullivan also responded to Hamas’s claim that three other hostages, including an American, were killed during the operation.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has confirmed reports that civilians were killed during Israel’s mission to rescue hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on June 8 that four hostages—Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40—were rescued during a “high-risk” operation deep inside the Gaza Strip.
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on June 9, Mr. Sullivan was asked if the United States could confirm the number of people killed in the operation.
“We, the United States, are not in a position today to make a definitive statement about that. The Israel Defense Forces have put out one number. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has put out another number,” he said.
“But we do know this. Innocent people were tragically killed in this operation. The exact number we don’t know, but innocent people were killed. And that is heartbreaking. That is tragic.”
His comments follow the IDF’s report stating that fewer than 100 people died in the rescue operation, including 36-year-old Arnon Zamora, an Israeli commander of the National Police Counter-Terrorism Unit.
Related Stories
Meanwhile, Hamas-led health officials at two separate hospitals in the Palestinian enclave reported 274 people killed and around 700 wounded.
Additionally, the Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and terrorist militants in its tallies, and Hamas is known for using human shields and putting civilians at risk to protect its terrorist militants.
Mr. Sullivan remarked on June 8 that the situation has made Israel’s military operations in Gaza more challenging.
“Hamas is operating in a way that puts them [civilians] in the crossfire, that holds hostages right in the heart of crowded civilian areas, that puts military emplacements right in the heart of crowded civilian areas,” Mr. Sullivan said.
Responding to Hamas’s claim that three other hostages, including an American, were killed during the rescue operation, Mr. Sullivan stated that the United States has “not seen that verified or confirmed,” noting it’s “always a risk.”
“I believe that the Israelis have said that they do not have any information to that effect,” he said. “But of course, that is always a risk, with all of these military operations, hostages have been killed over the last eight months.”
