good afternoon sorry to be late again I don't have anything to start with so Matt really you see if you have a curveball for me two days in a row curveball uh okay I should not I should not have walked into that that's tempting that's tempting that is tempting fate let's start with new calonia I'm gonna take the question um all right uh so seriously can we um on um Rafa the situation there and I recognize that um your colleague at the White House just went over this for about an hour recently so I'm not sure you're going to have anything different to say but uh in since since he spoke has there been any change in uh the administration's understanding of what the Israelis are doing there no so a couple things that we have seen over the past 24 hours so obviously there was the operation that they launched overnight last night to take control of Rafa gate they have described that as a limited operation it appears to be at least that piece a limited operation at this time they have also as we discussed yesterday ordered the evacuation of some 100,000 people in neighborhoods in Rafa uh this military operation that they launched last night was targeted just to rfag it wasn't an operation in these civilian areas that they had ordered to be evacuated um so uh we will continue to make clear that we oppose a major military operation in Rafa make that clear them privately as well as publicly so but your your your uh sense of this is that this is not yet the Israelis have not yet uh at least not yet overstepped not what you have warned them against to it this appears to be a limited operation but of course it that much of that depends on what comes next they have said I think quite clearly it's no secret that they want to conduct a major military operation there we have made clearly made clear that we oppose such an operation and separately but of course it's related we are trying to uh achieve an agreement that would bring an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages and on that how's that going uh negotiations are on ongoing in Cairo today we continue to believe that there is space to reach a deal and we are trying uh incredibly hard to push one over the line thanks yeah thank you on Raa are the actions that Israel is taking so far reflective of the advice that us officials have been giving regarding targeted precise strikes in Rafa or or are the israeli's actions I am not going to get into the either the I'm not going to do two things number one I'm not going to get into the private advice that we have given them two I'm not going to offer an assessment uh about whether that aligns wholly with the advice that we have given because to do that I'd kind of have to lay out what it is that we have told them I will say that this does appear to be a limited operation so far but as I made clear ites does to a great extent depend on what comes next and what we have seen so far is the ordering is not just this limited operation but the ordering of the evacuation of 100,000 people and we have made clear that we don't think um the kind of military operation that would follow such an evacuation uh is one that uh we can support because of the um dramatic impact it would have on the civilian population there and the ability to get humanitarian assistance in and deliver to those people you and other American officials have us consistently that the US has been clear about what it um thinks about a major Rafa offensive have you been coordinating with allies and partners on the potential consequences should Israel launch such such an offensive uh so I'm not going to speak to that we have um uh largely because I'm not going to speak to what decisions that we may make if Israel does launch such an operation um we have made clear that they have to make their decisions about policy and we will make our decisions about our policy obviously we discussed that with our allies and partners around the world we disc secretary every time he meets with one of our allies one of the first things on the table often times even before whatever bilateral issue we have to discuss they want to talk about what is going on in the Middle East and what is going on with respect to uh the war in Gaza so we do talk about this um uh sometimes in quite detail in in quite a bit of detail but I'm not going to talk about I'm not going to read that out publicly okay two more on the region um one is on the hostage talks there's been been some reporting that the US may be making promises about the length and the permanence of the cessation of hostilities promises that Israel may not be willing to keep so can you clarify whether the US and Israel are actually aligned on that front or whether the US is making some unilateral promises so I'm not going to talk about the details of these negotiations and I hope you'll understand why it's a something we have tried to do since the beginning is not to talk in too much detail about these negotiations because of how sensitive they are and they may be have never been more sensitive than they are at this moment where we think a deal is possible um and we are trying to push one over the T over the line um I will say that we have closely coordinated with the government of Israel on this matter um we have been in touch with them on a daily oftentimes an hourly basis um and will continue to to to do so okay one more um without getting into what the conclusion is tomorrow is the deadline for the National Security memorandum that this building needs to deliver to Congress again I don't expect you to tell us what if any conclusion has been made but has a conclusion been made as to whether Israel has violated us or International La I'm not going to answer that question directly because the report is not yet finished we are working incredibly hard to get that report finished get that report finalized and get it to get it to delivered to Congress as soon as possible do you expect it to be delivered tomorrow uh we are trying very hard to meet that deadline it is I will just note a self-imposed deadline it's not one that is in statute but we are trying very hard to get the report done it is a complicated report this is the first time the department has ever written something like this uh first time we've ever um gone through and made these kind of um uh assessments about the two questions that are that are at issue in the report so there is a lot of work for uh that has to be done that work is ongoing we know we're up against the deadline we're trying to get it we're trying to meet it it's possible it slips just a little bit but we are still at this point trying to to get it done uh by tomorrow sorry this the first time you guys have ever a report about whether whether whether your military sales to a foreign country being used being used in violation not violation it is the first time we have had to to write this kind of report that's called for in the NSM there may be other ones you know you know successive you and pre your predecessor and and previous administrations have always talked about how you're always looking into whether or not the weapons that you provide to to countries are used in compliance with and this is now all of a sudden the first time that is no there those are different questions Matt we are always looking into how things are used but those are ongoing assessments and right now these are ongoing assessments and that what that's what makes the process a little difficult we have ongoing assessments that are being made and in the middle of that process we are um because we decided it was a good idea to do on our own valtion stopping in the middle of that and making assessments about um or answering questions about Israel's compliance with International humanitarian law as well as the delivery of humanitarian assistance and I should add it's not just Israel always make this point there are other countries as well that this applies to it is the first time state has ever written a report of this nature uh especially in the middle of a conflict that goes to uh Congress and so we want to make sure we have it right all right and then just one other thing that I was confused on is that you seem to be uh bothered by the idea that the Israelis have um told 100,000 people to evacuate from part of Rafa uh and yet it was my understanding that um over the course of the last month or so you guys have been telling the Israelis that they you would oppose one you would oppose a major operation there unless they had a plan to get civilians out are you suggesting that moving they're telling 100,000 people to get out of the way is is is a bad thing if they're going to do if they're going to do an operation I mean it seems to me that that is a plan whether or not it's it is worthy or not but it is a plan it is not in theory a it is not in theory a bad thing to do of course if you're going to conduct a military operation you want to see people evacuated but those people need to have somewhere to go and the place that they go to needs to have sufficient food sufficient water sufficient housing sufficient sanitation and we have not yet seen a plan that would deliver that and I will add there's also the question that if you evacuate 100,000 people and launch military operations will it be only 100,000 people that move or will it be more other people that see the conflict and flee in the face of it our assessment is it's probably a lot more than 100,000 that would move and so you have to have plans not just for 100,000 people but hundreds and hundreds of thousands of additional people to take care of their needs and that's not what we have seen so Simon wonder you you've been warning obviously for that this operation shouldn't go ahead um without without that plan you seem to be holding back from saying that it has gone ahead but in terms of what you've been warning about um you know the humanitarian impact it seems there is already an impact in terms of you know another bordering Crossing is closed um and at the moment we understand both border border crossings have closed so do Israel's actions over the last 24 hours uh set back the work that you've been pushing them to do on the humanitarian situation you know given that there's a near famine conditions in certainly uh the closing of Karam Shalom and the closing of Rafa set back the delivery of humanitarian assistance now to some ENT the full answer to that question depends on what happens next and whether they're quickly reopened and Israel has committed to reopen Kum Shalom tomorrow we're working to make sure that that actually happens uh so humanitarian assistance can continue to come through and I should add that caram Shalom didn't close just because of an action by Israel it closed because it was bombed by Hamas um so we want to see it reopen as soon as possible theyve said they'll do it tomorrow same thing with Rafa they said that Rafa will reopen for the delivery of fuel which is incredibly important to desalinization of water it's incredibly important to fueling the trucks that deliver humanitarian assistance once it's inside Gaza um and it's incredibly important for um for running bakeries that deliver bread for um the the population there that needs it so much but we want to see it fully reopen and so when I say it depends on what happens next we if Kum Shalom opens and Rafa reopens those will be important steps because we don't want to see humanitarian assistance limited or impeded in any way have they told you that now they've got control of of this is actually going to be better in terms of getting getting humanitarian Aid is that what you seem to be suggesting no that's not what I'm I'm suggesting I don't want to get into any private conversations they've said it would reopen for fuel we want to see it reopen for everything because it is Rafa is a Crossing that so should note that the amount of humanitarian assistance that has gone in through Rafa has gone down over time as assistance has shifted more to Kum Shalom but that assistance is still uh critical we're not in a position where we can afford to see any delivery me mechanism shut down even if it's one of the relatively small ones um and I only say relatively small in in relation to to the amount coming in through Kum Shalom um but we also want to see it open for fuel it is the entry point for humanitarian workers that come in it is the exit point for people that come out uh of Rafa so it's important that gate be be open not just for the delivery of humanitarian assistance but so that humanitarian workers can come in and out uh of Gaza to do uh the important work that they do every day and just just finally um you know we've already seeing uh I think there's some videos of you know tanks rolling over civilian infrastructure as they've entered into um into the the area around the the border crossing there's a lot there reports of you know civilian loss of life there's been air strikes in in Rafa um I guess just to try and get clarity on is does the US oppose what Israel has done so far or you you're just saying we have to wait and see uh so we clearly oppose the destruction of any civilian infrastructure if it does not constitute a legitimate military Target now when you get to off you looking at any one p any one video we'd have to be able to assess whether that's a legitimate military Target are there hos fighters in there you know the the issues that we have gone through a number of times but certainly we don't want to see civilian infrastructure uh damaged destroyed in any way but that said to the larger question um it is not our assessment that a military operation a major military operation has begun at this point but that could obviously change at uh at any moment and we will continue to make clear that we don't it's not one that we could support just one video in question has a you know an Israeli tank rolling over an I love Gaza sign uh doesn't does that seem like something that could be a a legitimate military that does not seem like it would serve any legitimate military purpose no well you consider postive sign to be critical infrastructure no so I've seen the video but what I don't know what the tank was going or but but OB just on the face of it no that would not seem to to be so go ahead now on the NSM is that taking into account anything that's happening in Rafa over these past few days so it is a looking backwards report um I'm not going to get into it you'll have to wait and see when uh when we make it public yes or no though can you say if that's you might when it comes to any of the content of the report I think is just going to have to wait and see something that we're still working on and the jordanians say that another one of their aid convoys was attacked by Israeli extremists on the way to arz do you have any comment on this has there been any discussion with the Israeli government since this latest incident which is I think the second one it is something that we have raised with the Israeli government we have made it clear to them that they need to take action to prevent these attacks and they need to take action to hold people accountable this is something that happened the F for the first time the first time with this particular route uh last week when we were in uh Israel and the secretary raised it directly with prime minister Netanyahu and in that case they made three arrests of people responsible that is obviously the appropriate thing to do um they need to make to to make arrests in this case hold people accountable and send a strong public message as a deterrent that they will not tolerate these attacks on convoys that are just trying to to deliver humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians that need it there's also our team has reported that nine children have been killed in Rafa since the start of the Israeli limited operation as you described it um do you have any comment on this obviously every every uh death of any civilian but especially children is a tragedy whether they're in Rafa or anywhere else inside Gaza uh and we've made that clear since the outset of this operation yeah go ahead just to clarify I heard you sort of jumping in back there several times I always get to you s I know you I know you will I'm just you know getting some exercise so you can do I think we can all do better than that than counting what we doing here is exercise yeah that's about the extent of it anyway the nsm2 now it's been n it's been three months how do you think how long it will be before it is released uh we do you have any expectations like next week or the week so we are working incredibly hard to get it done we want to get it done tomorrow it's possible it slips just a very short period of time um but as I said our goal is still to try to get it done tomorrow if it if we don't I'll have an update for you but we want to get done as soon as possible so it it could come out tomorrow it absolutely okay now a couple of things on the you know on on ra you said that your understanding is that this is a very limited operation so the Israelis can conceivably do a number of lied operations you know in other words you know collectively it will be a big operation but they can strike this area of RA that area of RA so on but that always be would that also be okay with you so I'm I'm not going to speculate about some hypothetical scenario that may happen in the future but obviously there is a point where a series of limited operations or one large one that is that's just as a theoretical point is obviously true but in terms of what might happen I'm just not going to speculate on that or comment on uh such a hypothetical on the Crossing on the crossing I mean it it you said that the the crossing of or Shalom was closed because of the strike but in fact that what was struck was a military a military base or a military encampment for the Israel and not really the crossing itself I'm just saying the so I mean you could make that argument it was that strike at Kum Shalom right that precipitated its closure and I would say yes it appears that the strike was aimed at uh IDF forces there could have hit the humanitarian workers um could have hit everyone coming through it's that strike that precipitated its closure but that said our you should be very clear about what our position is we want to see it open we want to see it open as soon as possible they said that they'll open it tomorrow we'll see well we're going to work to see that that happens isn't it a bit cynical of the Israelis you know to do this on the day after Cindy McCain came out and said there's a full-blown famine in Gaza they closed you know ra they closed K Sal they closed all these things is that doesn't that bother you that you know right after the head of the world food program comes out and says there's a full-blown famine in Gaza they went and closed it so I don't think you have to draw a connection between those comments and the closing of those those two gates it doesn't matter we want to see the gates open because we know the humanitarian assistance I'm sorry the humanitarian situation is dire in Gaza we know that people uh need food and need water and need medical supplies and that's why we want to see those Crossings open it's also why we work to get Era Crossing open it's why we're working on a maritime option it's why we have continued to work hard from the president on down to get humanitarian assistance delivered into Gaza one last question on the on the settlements the Israeli settlers seem to use you know they shepher their sheep and so on to you using their guns and so on to basically take over to seize West Bank land are you aware of this report I I don't know I'm not aware of this specific report but obviously that has been something that uh has been well reported well documented over the past several months as well as proceeding that time thank you and and I should thought there's going be a followup question since not I'll just go ahead we have made clear that uh the Israeli government needs to do more to crack down on settler violence they need to do more to police settler violence they need to do more to hold Set uh extremist settlers accountable for their violent actions and we have also made clear and you've seen us roll out sanctions to this effect um that when we don't see sufficient action we are going we ready and willing to take action ourselves and we will continue to do so thank you yeah oh thank you uh the UN Secretary General Mr Antonio Ceres said that the closing of Rafa Crossing um is adversely going to uh affect the humanitarian Aid that's getting into Gaza to a situation that's already catastrophic do you believe that's a violation of international law so to answer that question you have to look at all the other deliveries of humanitarian assistance I can't offer you a legal definition from here because you have to weigh it against other factors including whether sufficient humanitarian assistance is coming in through other Crossings if that's you could theoretically come up with a situation where all the a that's going in through one Crossing diverts to another that said that's not a situation that we want to see because there is not enough humanitarian assistance going in right now we have seen it increase over the past four or five weeks since the president had that phone call on April 4th with prime minister Netanyahu but we are not yet at the point where we can afford to shut down Rafa or any other one Crossing we need to see humanitarian assistance come in uh and so that's why we'll work to continue to see it reopen now that said one of the things that that Israel said is is very much accurate which is Hamas did control the Gaza side of Rafa Crossing and Hamas was continuing to collect revenue from that Crossing being open so um it is a legitimate goal to try and uh derive Hamas from revenue money that they could use to continue to finance their terrorist activities that said we want to see the crossing open and we're going to work to try to get it back open okay so you're justifying basically that the Israel is closing it because they have many reasons it's not that's not what I said that's not not at all should not at all take that that's what I you could find another you could find another way to to open that Crossing hopefully without re without Hamas being the one that is Manning the Gaza side of it uh and collecting Revenue as as Goods flow through Rafa collecting Revenue some of it lcit some of it probably illicit uh when you think of bribes and other things that happen with the uh Crossing of traffic through um through that Crossing so I would say yes it is a legitimate goal to try to deprive Hamas of that Revenue but we need to find a way of doing that that keeps Rafa open I see there just Express concern about this 100,000 civilians have been evacuated um and you said there is no place for them to go and our reporting from Gaza B basically that there's no safe place for people to go and as you know many people have been walking 10 kilm to go somewhere else isn't this already Define what you've been calling the Israelis not to do whether evacuating a million and a half or 100,000 the evacuation has to be with a viable plan as you said but there is no viable plan so the Israel is already Define you any consequences for that so we have made clear we don't want to see a major military operation this does look like the Prelude of a major military operation we have not yet seen that operation commence and in terms of any policy response we wait to see what what happens next before uh we make those determinations okay one final question um don't know if I go satisfactor answer but anyway one final question about this Mass Graves almost 400 people have been buried in Mass Graves some of them according to the latest un report not eyewitnesses on the ground the UN report or Palestinian media that they've been buried alive and some were children some were women I know you've been seeing that you a bit slow in writing reports and delivering them on time but why we been calling about this investigation what's holding this investigation because you know there's s serious concern here about 400 people have been rounded and buried and some have been buried alive so we have made clear that Israel needs to continue to be transparent uh about this issue Israel has said that uh with respect to this issue of mass Graves there are places where they were operated where there were Mass Graves where Palestinians have buried their dead uh uh in in you know alt together probably because of the extraordinary circumstances uh in which uh in which they have been forced to live and Israel has come in and exhumed some bodies to try to identify whether they were hostages here they've gotten intelligence that there were hostages contained in in those Mass Graves and so they've exhumed them to check that uh and then reberry them after the fact we believe they ought to continue to be transparent about what exactly took place and that'll continue to be our position go ahead Matt could I clarify just one thing sure just reported that the crossing at TR would be managed by an American company are you aware of this kind of suggestion I'm not aware of that at all than you that's was my question sorry about there two days in a row I came to you and you somebody else had asked question sit next to him right yeah Michelle go ahead today that the administration is holding up munition shipments to send a political message to Israel uh is that true and what is the message look our support for Israel's right to defend itself our support uh for Israel's right to ensure that October 7th never happens again remains strong and with respect to any individual shipments I'm just not going to speak to them from here and second did the US uh uh give any guarantee to Hamas on ending the war in Gaza so I'm not going to speak to uh what are very sensitive delicate ongoing negotiations and you should not read into my kind of blanket refusal to do that anything as regards to your question it's just a rule that given the nature of the negotiations right now I don't think it would be helpful I don't think it would be productive uh to um to get into it there have been obviously a lot of reports over what has been in various proposals over the past 24 hours some of those reports have been more accurate than others some of them have been completely off base I don't think it serves our purpose uh given the status of negotiations to kind of par and what about this report concerning the guarantees I think I just answered the question I don't have anything further to add on the first question so your your your position is that you don't comment about individual shipments we're not going to not in this case no because you do in pretty much every other case fact I've looked looked back over the last three weeks I got one to Argentina one to Iraq one to the Netherlands one to Poland on to Saudi Arabia you don't have any problem talking about those it depend it always depends on the situation but we have made clear in this it often does there are times that um uh we have congressionally mandated rules about things we need to disclose there are times that we disclose armed shipments because we want to Rally our hold on we want to Rally our allies and partners to do the same and there are times that we keep those those shipments those sh private there's it's also true as you know you know this more than me that there are a variety of different type different arms uh sales programs there are different uh disclosure mechanisms for each of those I I am well aware and and I and I and I and I know where you're coming from on this I just think that it just is it doesn't make any sense because you guys basically you just have to come out and say that you know you are not consistent about this and that when it suits you to announce an arm sale or an arm shipment you'll do it and when you don't think that it suits you then you don't and that's inconsistency at its know that is the definition of being inconsistent there are different situations all around the world and of course we look at them differently uh go ahead Alex thank oh are you I'm gon stay in the yeah if you stay in the region I'll I'll Pro come go just one quick one is there any update on whether the US has come to a new determination on possible Ley law violations case that one IDF you sorry I didn't mean to interrupt um no we continue to look through new uh look through and review new information that Israel has provided to us and are uh working on what that assessment will be and you have no expectation for how long that process could take uh I don't we're trying to get it uh uh finished as soon as possible but it's important that we get it right as well I want to stay in the region but farther east uh on Syria the US repatriated um several dozen I think around 22 dozen westerners from the from the camps in alol um there were apparently 11 Americans that were repatriated can you give us any details on how that operation played out um and could you tell us if if you have that number or ballpark number of how many Americans were talking about left in in in in these camps so in in terms of the operation that just happened overnight there were 11 Americans and then one family member who is not a US citizen but a family member of a US citizen uh part of this 11 Who U Were repatriated and brought to the United States um it's something that we've been working on with our International Partners as well as humanitarian partners because we believe that repatriation is the only durable long-term solution to the humanitarian and security situation in Northeast Syria and just as we have done in this instance we urge uh all countries of origin to repatriate rehabilitate reintegrate and where appropriate prosecute their Nationals upon return to uh from Syria and then with respect to the number of Americans that remain we're aware of approximately 25 US citizens who may be located in displaced persons camps and detention facilities in Northeast Syria around 25 okay beyond the 11 that came yes beond okay sure so this was not a product of direct talks with syrians right if that's the case did you learn anything about the case of Austin PR during this process uh so the with respect to Austin Ty we continue to call on the Syrian regime to ensure Austin TI and every US national held in Syria are able to return home we continue to work uh every available path to ensure his return home um we've engaged extensively with regard to this case trying to bring him home and we're not going to give up until we do you might want to take this one for me as you know Al's mother was in town last week uh she gave an interview and she said that she's seeking an access to State Department report from 2020 fall uh about the trip of B Trump Administration official to Syria the report was not shared with the family which contains significant details about how the Sans are trying to provide Proof of Life are you willing to uh come up with a report so I can't speak to that specific report we have um uh obviously been engaged with uh Austin Ty's family including his mother um I I will just say we you know as a parent I think every parent can't under cannot imagine what it is she must be going through and so people here from the Department engage with her on a regular basis to talk about this case and update her on the work that we are doing to try to bring him home thank you this might also be a good Segway to uh take details about the latest information about the US soldier was detained in Russia what do you know any anything new and and are seeking access to so there is this is one where you know it's often the case there's not much I can say you're aware of the privacy rules and um our inability to say very much about these cases when we don't have a privacy waiver um I can confirm that a US citizen has been detained in Russia uh whenever a US citizen is detained abroad Consular officers seek uh to Aid him with uh all appropriate assistance and we are doing so uh in this case not able to say more uh unfortunately the Pentagon is able to say some more I think they've done so publicly and I would refer you to them for that but I just have to say the same thing I always do when asked about a US citizen who has traveled to Russia which is our travel advisory is at a level four for a reason US citizens should not travel to Russia for any reason it's dangerous you risk um being detained you risk uh uh other threats to your health and well-being and so um for any American citizen anywhere in the world whether they are here in the United States or whether they're in some other country if you are considering going to Russia don't do it just could not be less complicated thank you one one last from me uh we heard you know L of statements coming from Russia about you know British uh you know uh so potential uh participation in Ukrainian war and they say that they're going to Target uh British weapons uh with whether you know is inside or outside of Ukraine this makes a question you know it goes back to question that we discussed with you with vant with Ned a couple more than year and a half uh why is it that Ukraine doesn't have a right to Target Iranian North Korean uh you know you know Target whether it's inside or outside of the region uh you're proposing that they Ukraine should widen the conflict Beyond even Russia but to other countries and bring other countries directly hold on hold on bring other countries directly into the conflict I I would just say there that is a rare question that answers itself I don't think that would be in anyone's interest go ahead no no go in front of you sorry yeah thank you so much Ma just a quick follow up on Rafa offensive you said it is limited not uh major but do you think it's a constructive approach to go into Rafa right after Hamas accepted a fire and you know at a time when many Palestinians were on the c r celebrating the possibility of a ceas fire so let me just make one thing clear which is Hamas did not accept the of ceasefire proposal Hamas responded and in their response made several suggestions it's not the same as accepting the statement that uh was issued yesterday that was widely reported and I'll blame the reporting is what the sement said is not an accurate reflection of what happened they responded as people do in a negotiation process but it was not an acceptance now that said we are trying very hard to get a ceasefire agreement over the line as I said uh uh a moment ago um and I will just say separate apart from an operation Rafa this the the scenes that we saw in Gaza when you see people coming out in the streets and celebrating what they thought was a ceasefire um number one tells you just what they've lived through I mean you know that obviously but you really see just the Joy on people's face what they've lived through and the emotion uh and thinking that they might have some hope that this conflict uh will come to an end but also I can say for everyone here just confirms why we think it's so important to get this ceasefire agreement over the line and why we are going to continue to push forward just a quick followup you I think you didn't comment on whether or not you find isra approach constructive um so I I mean I spoke to this earlier in the process which is we don't want to see a major military operation they have said this is a limited operation there are some legitimate purposes like I said in um keeping Hamas from depriving revenue from Rafa gate but at the same time we don't want to see Rafa gate shut so we want to see it reopen um so I'm not going to comment uh uh I'm not going to pass judgment one way or the other whether it's constructive or not what is important from our perspective is that we not see a major military operation go forward and we've made that I think pretty clear just it go ahead clarify sounds like this is the case the secretary last week multiple times referenced this generous and flexible offer that Israel had put forward and you're saying this is not what he was referring to that Hamas put forward and accepted yesterday uh there was an offer he was referring to offer that was put forward some 10 11 days ago April 26 I believe it was um that's the offer that was on the table Hamas seemed to make clear that they in their public statements that they accepted that offer yesterday that is not what they did they responded with amendments call a counter proposal if you want and we're working through the details of that now and can you give us any updates on the military Pier that's being constructed in Gaza do you expect that the rotha operation is going to delay its construction or oper so I would really refer you to the Pentagon for details on that just because they are the ones that are actually doing uh the construction and doing the the operation they'll have the latest details on it um I would certainly hope that a off operation would not delay it it's in a different part of Gaza from where they they would be operating um if anything it just shows why it's so important to get that um uh that Pier finished but that said no one should think that the pier I mean I you could see yeah no one should think that the the the completion of this pier and the opening of that route is in any way a replacement for Kum Shalom and Rafa being open um getting that Pier finished is not um sufficient means to close other Gates it's not sufficient reason to operate in the South and disrupt the delivery of humanitarian assistance because even when that Pier is open um the amount of Aid it can deliver a day somewhere around a 100 trucks in no way can replace what needs to come into Gaza through these other uh these other Gates very good someone that's been watching the Pentagon briefings I wish I had time I wish no offensive I wish I had time to watch their briefings as well as do my own uh I just don't Janny go ahead thank you thank M regarding the USA and South Korea's defense cost sharing it has been reported that uh if former president Trump is reelected South Korea's defense cost sharing with increase significantly recently there was a discuss on the it's cost to shing between South Korea and the United States in Hawaii and you know that defense cost Shing be increased under the Biden administrations if so what percent will it will increasing uh I just don't have that those numbers at my fingertips are but you don't have it anything for the because you have I mean in terms of the percentage I I just it's not happy to take I'm happy to take it back Andy thank you and have another one and recently UN resolution to prevent on nuclear weapons in space were rejected by Russia's VTO what do you think about the un's permanent members imposing penalties to BTO abuse so as we said at the time we are incredibly disappointed that Russia vetoed um what should been a quite uncontroversial resolution uh regarding the obligations of U State parties under the outer space treaty it should be uh clear I think that no country should have reservations about prohibiting putting a nuclear weapon into orbit and in terms of um potential actions I don't have anything to preview from here go ahead thanks Matthew um political just reported that the and I'm quing from the report Administration is holding up shipments of two types of Boeing Precision bombs to send a political message to Israel and quote is this true I think Michelle asked me that exact question 5 10 minutes ago and I answered it okay sorry um now that Israel has invaded Rafa is the department considering any actions such as uh sanctions or withholding aid from Israel uh I also answered that question earlier when I said we are not going to preview policy options uh at this time uh and finally six lawmakers from the Congressional executive Commission on China has sent a letter to the state department asking for um state to use its existing Rewards program to seek firsthand information on forc orgon harvesting in communist China and disrupt the ilicit trade the state departments expressed concerns about this issue before publicly and in the human rights reports do you have any response to the letter and will uh State consider using the rewards program to stop for orgon AR we uh uh I'm sure have received that letter and will respond in due course to the members themselves sir thank you sir two question common questions one um as far as conflict in the Middle East or Gaza or Hamas and Israel is concerned first on October 7 Hamas attacked the innocent people in Israel now innocent people are being killed or they are dying in Gaza because of Basics they are not getting my question is that Hamas may be a common problem for the common people in Gaza and how can you describe for the common people we are nego with Hamas is a Hamas a terrorist organization or is a political organization it is absolutely a terrorist organization so why are we negotiating then with them well we don't uh Hamas is holding civilians hostage including American citizens and we want to see those American citizens return home so it's also true that Hamas is one of the parties of this conflict and has the ability to end it so um we think it's appropriate we're not in direct negotiations with Hamas but obviously we're engaging with countries in the region Qatar and Egypt who have the ability to talk to them and we think it's appropriate to do so because we want to see these hostages return home especially the American hostages but the hostages of Israel and every other country remember there's not just Israeli citizens who are being held hostage and we believe this is the best way to do so second sir Secretary of State and Secretary of Treasury both were in China recently and both want Chinese leadership about not to interfere in the US elections and among others can you describe that what kind of um warning was and what was the response from the Chinese leadership so I'm not going to speak that to that any in any level of detail but the secretary did make clear um uh reiterating something that we have a message that we have delivered previously to the Chinese government that any inter any interference any attempt to influence our upcoming election is something that would be unacceptable thank you very much s thank you um just to clarify you've called the Rafa operation limited but you also o said it had the appearance of being a Prelude your word to a major operation I don't think that's what I said it's not int said I said that they have Des one number one they have described it as limited it looks at this way to not be the major operation that you would see say for example if they entered the um neighborhoods where they have ordered evacuations we don't know if it's a Prelude or not they've made clear that they intend to offer to launch a major military operation and we have made clear that we are opposed to that I can't speak to so you're not calling no I can't speak to whether is I'm sorry Gant is touring Rafa the Rafa area today and he said uh I directed the IDF to enter Rafa area take the crossing carry out its missions this operation will continue until we eliminate Hamas in the Rafa area in the entire Gaza Strip so that doesn't sound limited to me uh so they have made similar statements in the past about what their policy ints to be and we have made our statements about what our policy is and we continue to make that clear yeah yeah I want to move to another region uh hati um do you have any updates for us on where we at where we're at in terms of the deployment of that police force or security force uh now that the presidential Council was put into place uh uh what is the status of play on that at this point so we welcome the process um uh the the progress in the political process that has taken place um we continue to work uh with our Kenyon partners and other countries the for the deployment of the MSS um in terms of an exact deployment schedule um we have I think for operational security reasons not wanted to to affix a public date to it but it's something that we're working to um to um to make happen as soon as possible but are there any pre- elements of Ford people going in now in heti from from the US or from not that I'm aware of not that I'm aware of I mean it's more of a pentagon question yeah that's why that's kind of like one yeah go ahead yeah yeah so um just back to ra prior to Israel taking control um Hamas was collecting Revenue as you said of those goods um can you go into more detail on how Hamas was benefiting from that Crossing and also how you navigate the fine line of uh ensuring that they're deprived while also uh keeping it open well hamamasu is the has been the government in Gaza so they were performing uh in addition to being a terrorist organization they were the de facto government in Gaza and so we're performing government functions and that includes running a border crossing where you can collect Customs um you can also if you control a border crossing cor uh collect let's call them more irregular payments and we have seen both of those things happen um and so it is a legitimate goal to try to shut off and choke off that Revenue stream to Hamas that said we want to see Rafa open and so someone needs to be on the um Gaza side of Rafa to run that side of the crossing the Egyptians can't do it we talked about this very early in the conflict when we were trying to open Rafa in the first place so someone needs to be there to do it and we continue to work through how to get that gate open and how to keep it open and uh uh there's a report can you confirm that uh there's a plot to assassinate zilinski and other top Ukrainian figures that failed so obviously the Ukrainian government has made an announcement to that effect we have been in close contact with them uh about that I would defer to the Ukrainian government to speak to the details of it but um obviously uh it just speaks to depravity that we've seen on display from the Putin regime uh since the outset of this conflict thank you ran so given that uh Israel is pledging to wage an operation in Rafa using Us weapons that us opposes is there any internal process going on to figure out what went wrong internally like how how did the process allow the weapons to be shipped and then into a situation in which Israel is going to use them in opposition to what the United States wants done uh I don't think I can answer that question without presupposing a policy decision that we have not yet announced um we have made clear that um we made clear I've said it here what our position is on a major military operation in uh in Rafa and Israel will make its policy decisions and we will make ours so if they do continue this operation will it result in a review of what went wrong in again I'm just not going to speak to what policy determinations we might make or what internal U internal kind of mechanisms would go into answering such a question Pakistan question real quick sure Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently met with the Pakistan Ambassador and he relayed to the Ambassador that Imran Khan's safety in prison was a high priority of the United States did he coordinate that conversation with the state department does the state department share that view that his safety in prison uh is is a high priority of the US so I'm not aware of any coordination it may have happened uh may have been conversations between this building and Senator Schumer his staff and I'm just not aware of them it's certainly possible but obviously we want to see uh uh Safety and Security of every prisoner in Pakistan or anywhere else in the world something that every every um person every U uh detainee every prisoner is entitled to basic human rights and and protection under the law thank you usor and Donald Bloom met with the current leadership of Imran Khan's party um and after that meeting there were like dozens of stories circulating in Pakistani media could you tell us something about that as that meeting was arranged on the request of US ambassador Donald Bloom dozens of stories circula about a meeting our ambassador what a what a what a new thing different stories I haven't got a Donald Bloom question in a while um yes the US ambassador Donald Bloom met with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly uh Omar U Khan and other senior members of the oppos position to discuss a broad range of issues important to the bilateral relationship this includes us support for continued economic reforms human rights and Regional security sir uh after that meeting the leadership of uh PTI Imran Khan's party told media that they have Express their concerns about human rights violations fabricated cases against Imran Khan freedom of speech and others what is your position on these issues sir so um we have uh uh addressed this any number of times and our position is the same as we have stated it previously which is um we take no position on elections in in Pakistan we take no position with respect to uh any particular political party and of course we must to see basic human rights upheld as I said in my answer to to Ryan so one last question u a Saudi Crown Prince MBs is visiting Pakistan in next few days recently Iranian president was in Pakistan too so how you see these trips uh when there's a too too too much tension in the region so certainly we always support uh diplomatic engagement between our partners I don't have any further comment on the the uh visit between the Saudi Crown Prince to Pakistan but it's you know that kind of diplomatic engagement is routine and something that we support and encourage um but when it comes to Iran of course we while we welcome Regional deescalation we've seen the outbreak of limited conflict between Iran and Pakistan we do remain skeptical about Iran's intentions giving its continued destabilizing Behavior broadly in the region um take one more and then we'll wrap for today you go ahead uh thank you I want to ask you about Rafa uh you said you don't want you do not you do not want to see um large scale military operation um but on a scale of limited versus large military operation like what is acceptable for you when you configure for the concerns of you know the lack of humanitarian Aid that this can be a problem when you talk about the possible displacement of the people who are there already in the region like like where is this line for you United States here you're going to say like okay this is now large scale operation we do not support that I'm not going to get into trying to Define it here I will add though that we have had detailed conversations with the Israeli government about this much more detailed for obvious reasons and what we are willing to say publicly uh or what is productive to say publicly and they know quite clearly what our position is and I think I'll leave it at that that wrap for today thanks everyone
