With the temporary Israel-Hamas cease-fire now over, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC News’ “This Week” that the U.S. is “working at this literally by the hour … if we can get these discussions back going” to get a new pause in place.
Kirby said the Israel-Hamas agreement “fell apart because Hamas was unwilling and refused to come with additional [hostage] lists of women and children — which we know they are holding — and put them on the list so that Israel can evaluate that and we can get them exchanged.”
Kirby said the U.S. thinks “about eight” Americans remain hostage.
He added, “We don’t have perfect visibility on where they all are, we certainly don’t have perfect visibility on their physical or mental condition.”
When asked Sunday about The New York Times report alleging Israel knew about Hamas’ attack plan a year in advance, Kirby said the U.S. had no knowledge of the Hamas planning document.
He added, “The focus has got to be on making sure Israel has what it needs to go after Hamas leadership.”
Source: abc news
