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Blinken raises Gaza humanitarian concerns with Israel
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said he discussed with Israeli officials how to protect civilians in Gaza from harm and efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, as Israel has launched a punishing aerial campaign in response to an unprecedented assault by the terrorist group Hamas.
During a press conference in Israel, Blinken said civilians in Gaza are not the target of Israel’s “legitimate security operations to defend itself from terrorism and to try to ensure that this never happens again.”
“Hamas continues to use civilians as human shields, something that’s not new, something that they’ve always done, intentionally putting civilians in harm’s way to try to protect themselves or protect their infrastructure or protect their weapons,” Blinken said. “So that’s one of the basic facts that Israel has to deal with.”
Biden administration officials have said they expect Israel to abide by international laws of war as it conducts counterstrikes in Gaza. But concerns are mounting that the strip’s small size and dense population — an estimated 2 million people in an area of 140 square miles — will result in a significant civilian death toll and a humanitarian crisis for those displaced.
Israel had announced a siege of the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s attack, which was launched Saturday morning, with more than 1,000 believed killed. Reports have emerged of horrendous atrocities, such as people massacred at a concert, shot in their homes and on the street and mutilated bodies.
Blinken, after reviewing images of those killed, described Hamas’s attack as “depravity, in the worst imaginable way, it almost defies comprehension.”
Israel, in response, has stopped the supply of electricity, fuel, food and other commodities through Israeli crossings into Gaza as it carries out large-scale airstrikes against Hamas.
A Gaza crossing with Egypt, at Rafah, has reportedly been closed since Tuesday amid Israeli airstrikes on the strip.
Blinken said that he discussed with Israeli officials “ways to address the humanitarian needs of people living in Gaza and to protect them from harm,” including the possibility for the safe passage of civilians to leave Gaza.
“So this is important. And this is an area for focus.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health, which is controlled by Hamas, has said that total casualties in the strip amount to 1,354 killed and 6,049 injured as of Thursday. It is warning that the health system in the strip is beginning to collapse, that intensive care unit beds are filled and the number of injured people exceeds the capacity of operation rooms.
The threat of further civilian casualties in Gaza also extends to an estimated 150 hostages that Hamas kidnapped from inside Israel, with Americans believed to be among them.
U.S. officials have said they have limited to no information on the condition of hostages, where they are being held or their locations, either grouped together or spread out across the strip. Hamas has built up a network of tunnels under the strip that it uses to move around and avoid Israeli strikes.
Blinken said he would continue conversations on the humanitarian situation for people in Gaza with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan’s King Abdullah and leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Qatar.
“Across each of these engagements, we’ll continue pressing countries to help prevent the conflict from spreading, and to use their leverage with Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages,” Blinken said.
Many of these governments have contacts with Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 after ousting the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in a bloody takeover, even as it had control of the government following elections in the strip in 2006.
Previous instances of negotiations between Hamas and countries such as Egypt, Qatar and the UAE had brought about a cease-fire with Israel and periods of calm.
Yet this is unlikely to happen in the short term, as Israel has rejected calls for negotiations or a cease-fire and is making preparations for a possible ground invasion.
Lior Haiat, spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters in a briefing Thursday that Israel is not “negotiating anything right now.”
“Israel is still at war … there are still terrorists in Israeli territory,” Haiat said. “They are still launching missiles … we are still fighting terrorists that are trying to enter Israel and to murder Israelis. So there is no negotiation, mediation, about that.”
Lt. Col. Amnon Shefler, spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), told reporters that Israel is carrying out strikes on Gaza on “military targets, according to our values, to our morals and according also to international law of armed conflict.”
He spoke of the challenge of carrying out strikes, describing Hamas as embedding itself in the population by building an underground tunnel network below “houses, schools, kindergartens, hospitals — because they know that we follow, again, our morals, our values, and the law of armed conflict.”
He said the IDF is making efforts to warn civilians about incoming strikes, including dropping leaflets, phone calls and small armaments dropped on the roofs of buildings to signal an incoming strike.
But he said some strikes are carried out faster than warnings can be delivered.
“Sadly, there are times that we cannot [deliver warnings] and yet, that is because it’s a time-critical targets, or for other reasons, that we need to carry out a strike without using those very high amount of efforts that are put into making sure that as least as possible civilians are hurt, injured and of course, hopefully, not killed.”
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Blinken: Iran Has ‘Always Been Allowed to Use’ $6 Billion, We Just Moved it to Where It ‘Could Actually Be Used’
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Van Orden defends outburst at Biden officials over Israel, denies cursing
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) on Thursday defended his questioning of Biden administration officials at a briefing this week on Israel after other lawmakers criticized him for what they called rude and obnoxious behavior.
“I did not use any vulgarity or any profanity,” Van Orden said while leaving a GOP conference meeting Thursday, referring to the earlier closed-door briefing. “However, I took the Biden administration to task.”
The briefers were filling in lawmakers on the Hamas attack on Israel that began Saturday. Van Orden called the briefers “incompetent,” according to Rep. Judy Chu’s (D-Calif.) office. He also reportedly told the briefers he knew more about the circumstances after “having served two tours of duty in the Middle East.”
Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips (D) yelled “shame on you” in response to Van Orden, which resulted in Van Orden dropping an f-bomb against Phillips, according to Politico. Politico was the first outlet to report the incident.
Van Orden acknowledged he was frustrated at the breifing.
“We now have Americans held hostage by terrorists in the Middle East,” Van Orden said Thursday. “At least 25 Americans have been murdered by savages. They’re killing Jews at a level that they haven’t done since the Holocaust. And the Biden administration is not acting.”
“So was I frustrated?” Van Orden continued. “Absolutely. You know why? Because that could be you. It could be your sister, it could be your brother.”
Van Orden has been in hot water for alleged profane behavior before. In July, he reportedly called a group of teenage Senate pages in the Capitol rotunda “jackasses” and “pieces of s‑‑‑,” and he told them he didn’t “give a f‑‑‑ who you are.”
“Who the f‑‑‑ are you?” Van Orden reportedly asked, to which a person responded that they were Senate pages. “I don’t give a f‑‑‑ who you are, get out.”
Emily Brooks contributed.
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House Republican bill backed by over 100 lawmakers would refreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans, led by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, are introducing legislation that would stop the release of $6 billion in frozen funds to Iran in the wake of the Iran-backed Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
The legislation would essentially re-freeze the $6 billion in Iranian funds that were released as a part of a prisoner swap. The deal created a blanket waiver to transfer the funds from South Korea to Qatar without fear of violating U.S. sanctions. Administration officials say the funds can only be used for “humanitarian needs like food and medicine.”
“A month ago on the anniversary of 9/11, the Biden administration unfroze $6 billion and made it available to Iran — the world’s largest state sponsor of terror — while Iran was helping Hamas plan the horrific terror attacks on Israel,” Pfluger said in a statement. “This $6 billion will be used to backfill the money that Iran is paying to Hamas if we don’t act.”
The unfreezing of the money took place nearly a month before Hamas terrorists launched a massive, deadly attack on Israel over the weekend. Republicans have focused on the money as a way that the U.S. may be enabled Iran to support the Hamas attack. It is a claim that the Biden administration has repeatedly rejected.
REPUBLICANS, SOME DEM HOUSE LAWMAKERS URGE BIDEN TO REFREEZE $6B IN IRANIAN ASSETS
“Let’s be clear: the deal to bring U.S. citizens home from Iran has nothing to do with the horrific attack on Israel. Not a penny has been spent, and when it is, it can only go for humanitarian needs like food and medicine. Anything to the contrary is false,” State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said on Saturday.
A State Department spokesperson said that the money in the accounts in Qatar “remains in Doha.”
“Not a penny has been spent, and it will never go to Iran — it can only be used for future humanitarian-related purposes. Any suggestion to the contrary is false and misleading,” they said.
Meanwhile, the White House said that nothing has been allocated “and we’re going to watch it.”
But Republican critics have said that money is fungible and have kept up the pressure on the administration on the matter. On Thursday, multiple outlets reported that the U.S. had reached a “quiet understanding” with Qatar not to release any of the money to Iran. But Pfluger rejected that claim.
BIDEN ADMIN ‘UNEQUIVOCALLY’ CONDEMNS TERROR GROUP HAMAS, SAYS US ‘STANDS WITH ISRAEL’
“The administration’s supposed ‘quiet understanding’ with Qatar, who is also a host country of Hamas, is a disaster waiting to happen. Since the Administration refuses to permanently freeze the funds, Congress will,” Pfluger said.
The legislation would rescind the waiver used to transfer the funds and limit the president from using waiver authority to permit Iran from granting access to the accounts in the future.
REPUBLICANS BLAST BIDEN FOR RELEASING $6B IN FROZEN IRAN FUNDS AHEAD OF HAMAS ATTACK ON ISRAEL
The bill has 106 co-sponsors and is backed by the Republican Study Committee, with Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla, and Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Mike Gallagher co-leading the legislation.
“The Biden Administration first downplayed Iran’s role in Hamas’ attacks and then, astonishingly, tried to claim the $6 billion they gave to Iran has nothing to do with it,” Hern said. “Appeasing Iran does not work, it just gives them more resources to finance terrorism against Israel and cause chaos in the region.”
He noted that Iran provides over $100 million a year to Hamas, and said that Congress must ensure Biden “does not follow through” with sending the money to Iran.
“As Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, I am co-leading this legislation and will work to get a vote on the House floor as soon as possible,” he said.
The bill comes after House China Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher led a bipartisan group of nearly 100 lawmakers urging Biden to refreeze the money. They pointed to remarks by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who say that the funds would be used “wherever we need it.”
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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White House says GOP making cutting Social Security ‘a priority’ amid Speakership fight
The White House on Thursday accused House Republicans of making Social Security and Medicare cuts a “priority” amid discussions within the conference to elect a new Speaker.
“House Republicans may have spent the past week at each other’s throats. But cutting Social Security and Medicare continues to be one proposal that truly unites their conference,” the White House said in a memo first shared exclusively with The Hill.
It follows reporting from Semafor that Reps. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said Steve Scalise (R-La.) support setting up a bipartisan commission to address the national debt, including looking at the Social Security and Medicare programs.
Scalise defeated Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in the conference’s internal vote Wednesday to become the GOP nominee for Speaker — but the tally was a slim 113-99 victory, and he is struggling to garner enough support to win a majority vote on the House floor.
“Cutting Social Security and Medicare is a priority that House Republicans will let outlive their leadership,” the White House memo said. It highlighted that the Republican Budget Committee’s model federal budget for fiscal 2023 included increasing the Social Security eligibility age to reflect longevity.
“President Biden has been crystal clear: no matter who leads the House Republican Conference, he won’t let them cut one penny from Americans’ hard-earned retirement benefits,” the memo said.
Biden earlier this year had a back-and-forth with House Republicans during his State of the Union address, during which he warned that some Republicans wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare. He vowed he would veto any such effort, remarks that elicited boos and jeers from many GOP lawmakers in attendance, who argued it was not true.
Biden has often hit Republicans over Social Security and Medicare and claimed that they want to make cuts to entitlement programs.
He has bashed policy proposals released last year by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in which the senator proposed sunsetting government programs such as Social Security and Medicare every five years. Biden has taken aim at Scott in multiple speeches over his views on the programs and has given out pamphlets of Scott’s plan to remarks for audience members to read.
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White House: Iran hasn’t accessed $6B from prisoner deal
The White House maintained Thursday that Iran has not accessed any of the $6 billion in funds transferred to a Qatari account as part of a recent prisoner swap with Tehran amid multiple reports that the U.S. and Qatar are discussing blocking Iran from accessing the funds moving forward.
John Kirby, a White House spokesperson on national security issues, told reporters the entirety of the $6 billion is still in a Qatari bank after it was transferred from South Korea as part of a prisoner swap that freed five Americans. Talks of “refreezing” the funds have bubbled up since the devastating attacks on Israel by Hamas, a militant group long known to be backed by the Iranian regime.
“I’m not going to talk about diplomatic conversations one way or another,” Kirby said. “What I can tell you is every single dime of that money is sitting in the Qatari bank. Not one dime of it has been spent.”
Kirby later told reporters he wasn’t going to discuss changes that may have happened involving the funds in the last 24 hours.
“I’m not going to speculate one way or another here about future transactions,” he said. “What I can tell you is none of it has been accessed, and we are watching every dime.”
His remarks came soon after multiple news outlets reported that Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told House Democrats that Iran would no longer have access to the funds.
The administration had faced pressure from Republicans and Democrats alike on Capitol Hill to cut off access to the money in the wake of terrorist attacks against Israel.
White House officials have so far said there is no evidence Iran was involved in planning or carrying out the attacks, which have left more than 1,000 Israelis and more than two dozen Americans dead. But they have stressed that Iran is broadly complicit because of its years of support for Hamas.
Kirby emphasized that the $6 billion in funding was never going to be available to the Iranian regime and that it was subject to strict oversight.
“None of it has been accessed by Iran at all, and even if they had accessed it, it wouldn’t go to the regime,” Kirby said. “It would go to approved vendors that we approved to go buy food, medicine, medical equipment, agricultural products and ship it into Iran directly to the benefit of the Iranian people.”
The $6 billion that was unfrozen as part of the prisoner swap was already the subject of intense scrutiny from Republicans in particular, even prior to the Hamas attacks, with GOP lawmakers and presidential candidates equating it to a ransom payment that would embolden Iran.
The White House has been adamant that the money was not a ransom payment, noting that it did not come at the expense of U.S. taxpayers and that the money was from South Korean oil purchases to Iran under an agreement established during the Trump administration.
Go to Source: Administration News | The Hill