John Kirby Won’t Say Whether It’s Israel’s ‘Policy’ to ‘Block Aid’ from Reaching Gaza

President Joe Biden’s National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby did not answer anchor Margaret Brennan when directly asked whether it is Israel’s deliberate policy to block humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza.

On the latest Face the Nation on CBS, Brennan spoke with Kirby about the administration’s policy toward Israel in the wake of the tragic deaths of civilian aid workers in an Israeli airstrike the IDF has said was a “grave mistake,” but which World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés suggested Sunday was a deliberate targeting of the aid convoy.

Brennan earlier in the interview asked about whether, if gross negligence or failures in the process for protecting workers were to blame for the incident, there would be any “accountability.”

When she quoted former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta saying that “the Israelis usually fire and then ask questions,” Kirby’s response that Israel will have to change “their policies” prompted a follow-up from Brennan.

“You do you do think these are Israeli policies, then. To block aid?” she prompted.

“They have, they have, they get to decide how they prosecute this war,” Kirby replied without answering. “It’s their operation.”

“We get to decide how we’re going to react to that and how we’re going to administer our own policy with respect to Gaza,” he said.

Israel continues to state it is not the policy to prevent or block humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

BRENNAN: The former Defense Secretary, who you know well, Leon Panetta, said on CNN “in the past, in my experience, the Israelis usually fire and then ask questions.” Is the Biden administration position still, that there should be zero conditions on aid, military aid, to Israel?

KIRBY: I’m not going to get ahead of the President or decisions he might or might not make going forward. He was very clear in his call with the Prime Minister, that if we don’t see some changes in their policies in Gaza and the way they’re prosecuting operations, we’re going to have to make some changes of our own.

BRENNAN: You do you do think these are Israeli policies, then. To block aid.

BRENNAN: So the President is considering withholding, conditioning, doing anything here because for six months now, we have been hearing complaints like this from the humanitarians on this program telling us what’s happening.

KIRBY: Look, again, we- we see ourselves, we’re not blind to the risks that aid workers are in certainly not blind to the suffering that the people of Gaza are going through. And the President again, was clear. I won’t get ahead of that, Margaret, I won’t prejudge decisions he will or won’t make–

BRENNAN: — Why haven’t we heard from him on this? He feels so strongly. Why isn’t the President out there talking about this?

KIRBY: You saw his statement after–

BRENNAN: — I read a paper statement

KIRBY: — The Prime Minister- call with the prime minister and he will continue to talk to the American people and the members of Congress about what we’re doing and what we’re not doing.

Watch the clip above, via Face the Nation from CBS News.