‘Israel Is Bombing the Crap Out of Gaza!’ CNN’s Jake Tapper Pushes Biden NatSec Chief on ‘Priority’ of Rescuing Hostages

CNN anchor Jake Tapper pushed Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on whether rescuing hostages is “a priority at all,” noting “Israel is bombing the crap out of Gaza!”

Sullivan was a guest on Sunday morning’s edition of CNN’s State of the Union to discuss the situation in Israel. Early in the interview, Tapper pressed on the issue of rescuing hostages, observing that the bombing in Gaza doesn’t make it look like it’s “a priority at all”:

JAKE TAPPER: Is rescuing the hostages a priority at all? I mean, Israeli news media like Haaretz, they say it doesn’t seem like it at all. And frankly, Jake, if my kids were being held hostage in Gaza and as you know, there are Americans being held hostage in Gaza right now, I’d want you you to send in the Navy SEALs. What’s the conversation like in the White House about the U.S. conducting any sort of operations in order to save Americans being held hostage in Gaza?

JAKE SULLIVAN: Well, the president has been very clear that he has no higher priority than getting Americans back safe, Americans who are being held hostage by Hamas.

JAKE TAPPER: The Israelis are bombing the crap out of Gaza! And Jake, I mean, it doesn’t seem like saving the hostages are a priority at all right now.

JAKE SULLIVAN: Well, for President Biden, they are a priority. They’re the highest possible priority. And he has sent hostage experts to coordinate and consult with the Israeli government on hostage recovery efforts. He’s also made sure that our diplomats are in touch with third countries in the region to explore avenues for their safe release.

I have to be cautious about how much I can say about certain efforts he’s undertaking, because we want to protect those efforts to give us the best possible chance of getting our people home.

Now, Jake, one important point when it comes to the issue of the Navy SEALs is we do not at this point have pinpoint location information for where the American hostages are. So we have to continue to refine our understanding of where they are and even, Jake, who they are, because we know there are 15 unaccounted for Americans, but we cannot confirm the precise number of American hostages being held by Hamas at this time. All we can do is to continue to work closely with the Israeli government on hostage recovery options, which we are doing, and then work through third countries to see if there are avenues for release. Those efforts are underway. Our hope is that they can produce results. We will continue to stay focused on this. It’s as high a priority as the president has.

Biden NSC spokesman John Kirby has repeatedly and forcefully said the U.S. is not ruling out using U.S. forces to rescue hostages.

Watch above via CNN’s State of the Union.