
According to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States is “actively working” to confirm rumors that some Americans may have died in the Israel–Hamas fighting and that there may be some Americans held prisoner.
On Saturday, Hamas combatants attacked Israel from the southern part of the country. Many citizens and troops are being held captive by Hamas militants as a result of the ongoing attack, which has claimed hundreds of lives.
Does the administration now know if Americans were among the victims or those held hostage? Kristen Welker of NBC News questioned Blinken.
According to accounts, some Americans may be among the deceased, Blinken added. We are making a lot of effort to confirm those reports. In a similar vein, reports of hostages have surfaced, and we are actively working to confirm and confirm those stories.
When asked once more if other Americans might have also been held captive, Blinken responded, “That’s correct.”
Meanwhile, Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, said that Americans are among Hamas’ hostages during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
He responded, “I understand there are, but I don’t have details,” adding that he was unable to give specific statistics.
When asked if Iran had any involvement in the attack, Blinken mentioned that country’s “long relationship” with Hamas but claimed the Biden administration lacked proof.
“We don’t have anything to indicate us that Iran participated directly in this attack, in either planning it or carrying it out, but that’s something we’re looking at very carefully,” he said. And we need to follow the facts to their conclusion.
Welker added that Hamas launched its strike as the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel were discussing a possible agreement to improve relations. Washington may view this as a method to confront Iranian aggressiveness in the region.
“What, if any, role do you think those negotiations may have played in these attacks, & does this effectively mean that the talks are now dead?” It was her.
It’s not surprising that Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran oppose the discussions and Israel repairing relations with its neighbors and nations beyond the region, according to Blinken, who didn’t completely rule out the idea.
Because normalization is difficult, it’s very possible that one of the reasons for this attack was to try to thwart those efforts. There are numerous really difficult problems to resolve. We’re attempting to do that right now.
The Biden administration has been blamed for the assaults by Republican presidential candidates, with some alleging—without providing any supporting data—that the United States funded the attacks as a result of an exchange of prisoners with Iran, which has a history of supporting Hamas. According to a State Department memo given to Congress and obtained by NBC News, the agreement led to a waiver that allowed Tehran access to $6 billion in Iranian oil earnings that had been restricted by U.S. sanctions.
Blinken said he found it “very unfortunate that some are engaged in politics at a time when numerous lives have been lost & Israel remains under attack.” He was asked to reply to GOP critics who claim the recent agreement the Biden administration negotiated with Iran subsidized the attacks.
“The facts are that these were Iranian resources which it had accumulated from selling of its oil that were stuck in a South Korean bank from day one,” he said. “These were not American taxpayer dollars.” “It has always had the authority to utilize those monies for humanitarian purposes, for food, for medication, and for medical equipment, under our law and under our sanctions dating back many years. Money was transferred from one bank to another and it was easier to do so.
He continued, “Not a penny has been spent from that account. “When any money goes out from that account, it is limited to use for food, medicine, and medical supplies; anyone who claims otherwise is either misinformed or spreading false information; either way, it’s wrong.”
What do you think about the claim that money is fungible, suggesting that Iran may have anticipated the arrival of this money and used other resources to help finance this attack? Welker questioned.
“Unfortunately, Iran has always used and concentrated its resources on supporting terrorism, on supporting organizations like Hamas,” added Blinken. It has always given that priority and has done so both when there have been consequences and when there haven’t.
Blinken reaffirmed that Iran was given access to the funds the government released for humanitarian causes: “The Trump administration set up a very similar framework to allow Iran to use such types of assets for humanitarian causes. The same thing was done by us.
Additionally, he urged both chambers of Congress to “clearly show and express their support for Israel” in the crisis on a bipartisan basis.
Therefore, he continued, “That is something we would like to see, so we hope that it happens quickly.”