1 00:00:00,500 --> 00:00:04,119 Six . Hello everyone . Good 2 00:00:04,130 --> 00:00:06,900 afternoon . Let me just get settled 3 00:00:06,909 --> 00:00:10,829 here . All right , so 4 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:13,007 good afternoon , everyone . Just a few 5 00:00:13,007 --> 00:00:15,007 things at the top and then happy to 6 00:00:15,007 --> 00:00:17,062 jump in and take your questions . So 7 00:00:17,062 --> 00:00:19,284 first I want to start with an update on 8 00:00:19,284 --> 00:00:21,451 the maritime Humanitarian Corridor off 9 00:00:21,451 --> 00:00:23,451 the coast of Gaza on Saturday . May 10 00:00:23,451 --> 00:00:25,673 25th , 4 US army vessels supporting the 11 00:00:25,673 --> 00:00:27,729 maritime humanitarian aid mission in 12 00:00:27,729 --> 00:00:29,896 Gaza were affected by heavy sea states 13 00:00:29,896 --> 00:00:32,007 causing these motorized pier sections 14 00:00:32,007 --> 00:00:34,409 which are used to stabilize the trident 15 00:00:34,419 --> 00:00:36,799 pier to break free from their anchors 16 00:00:36,810 --> 00:00:39,459 due to a loss in power and subsequently 17 00:00:39,470 --> 00:00:42,779 beach ashore as of today , one of the 18 00:00:42,790 --> 00:00:44,846 army vessels that was beached on the 19 00:00:44,846 --> 00:00:46,957 coast of Israel near Ascalon has been 20 00:00:46,957 --> 00:00:49,123 recovered . The second vessel that was 21 00:00:49,123 --> 00:00:51,012 also beached near Ascalon will be 22 00:00:51,012 --> 00:00:53,319 recovered in the next 24 hours . And 23 00:00:53,330 --> 00:00:55,330 the remaining two vessels that were 24 00:00:55,330 --> 00:00:57,219 beached near the trident pier are 25 00:00:57,219 --> 00:00:59,441 expected to be recovered in the next 48 26 00:00:59,441 --> 00:01:01,274 hours . Efforts to recover . The 27 00:01:01,274 --> 00:01:02,941 vessels are underway with the 28 00:01:02,941 --> 00:01:05,179 assistance from the Israeli Navy . In 29 00:01:05,189 --> 00:01:07,658 addition , due to high sea states and a 30 00:01:07,668 --> 00:01:09,759 North African weather system earlier 31 00:01:09,768 --> 00:01:11,879 today , a portion of the Trident pier 32 00:01:11,879 --> 00:01:13,657 separated from the pier that is 33 00:01:13,657 --> 00:01:15,712 currently anchored into the coast of 34 00:01:15,712 --> 00:01:18,069 Gaza . As a result , the trident pier 35 00:01:18,079 --> 00:01:20,158 was damaged and sections of the pier 36 00:01:20,168 --> 00:01:21,946 need rebuilding and repairing . 37 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,449 Therefore , over the next 48 hours , 38 00:01:25,459 --> 00:01:27,570 the trident pier will be removed from 39 00:01:27,570 --> 00:01:29,860 its anchored position on the coast and 40 00:01:29,870 --> 00:01:32,330 towed back to Ashdod where us central 41 00:01:32,339 --> 00:01:34,870 command will conduct repairs . The 42 00:01:34,879 --> 00:01:36,935 rebuilding and repairing of the pier 43 00:01:36,935 --> 00:01:39,157 will take at least over a week and will 44 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,271 and following completion will need to 45 00:01:41,271 --> 00:01:43,382 be re anchored to the coast of Gaza . 46 00:01:43,790 --> 00:01:45,734 The pier proved highly valuable in 47 00:01:45,734 --> 00:01:47,901 delivering aid to the people of Gaza . 48 00:01:47,901 --> 00:01:50,699 Thus upon completion of the pier repair 49 00:01:50,709 --> 00:01:53,099 and reassembly , the intention is to re 50 00:01:53,169 --> 00:01:55,336 anchor the temporary pier to the coast 51 00:01:55,336 --> 00:01:57,720 of Gaza and resume humanitarian aid to 52 00:01:57,730 --> 00:02:01,629 the people who need it most to 53 00:02:01,639 --> 00:02:04,339 date . Over 1000 metric tons have been 54 00:02:04,349 --> 00:02:06,071 delivered from the pier to the 55 00:02:06,071 --> 00:02:08,238 marshaling area for onward delivery by 56 00:02:08,238 --> 00:02:10,690 humanitarian organizations and into the 57 00:02:10,699 --> 00:02:13,850 hands of Palestinians alongside our USA 58 00:02:13,860 --> 00:02:15,804 teammates . We remain committed to 59 00:02:15,804 --> 00:02:17,527 working with the international 60 00:02:17,527 --> 00:02:19,416 community to get aid into Gaza as 61 00:02:19,416 --> 00:02:21,471 quickly as possible . And as we have 62 00:02:21,471 --> 00:02:23,471 more information and more updates , 63 00:02:23,471 --> 00:02:23,419 we'll be sure to pass that along 64 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,360 switching gears . The secretary earlier 65 00:02:27,369 --> 00:02:29,425 today hosted the Angolan Minister of 66 00:02:29,425 --> 00:02:31,589 Defense to discuss the growing us 67 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,059 Angola bilateral defense relationship . 68 00:02:34,619 --> 00:02:36,970 This visit builds on the success of the 69 00:02:36,979 --> 00:02:39,850 2017 memorandum of Understanding . The 70 00:02:39,860 --> 00:02:42,470 2022 joint statement and Secretary 71 00:02:42,479 --> 00:02:44,535 Austin's trip to Angola in September 72 00:02:44,535 --> 00:02:47,589 2023 . A full readout of this meeting 73 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,270 will be available on defense.gov . And 74 00:02:51,279 --> 00:02:53,390 finally , tomorrow , Secretary Austin 75 00:02:53,390 --> 00:02:55,501 will depart for a trip to Singapore , 76 00:02:55,501 --> 00:02:57,800 Cambodia and France his 10th trip to 77 00:02:57,809 --> 00:02:59,920 the Indo Pacific as the Department of 78 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:01,865 Defense continues to strengthen us 79 00:03:01,865 --> 00:03:04,031 relationships with allies and partners 80 00:03:04,031 --> 00:03:06,198 in support of a shared regional vision 81 00:03:06,198 --> 00:03:08,365 for peace , stability and deterrence . 82 00:03:08,365 --> 00:03:10,476 Secretary Austin will deliver plenary 83 00:03:10,476 --> 00:03:12,729 plenary plenary , sorry , that word was 84 00:03:12,740 --> 00:03:14,907 tough for me remarks at the Shangri La 85 00:03:14,907 --> 00:03:16,907 dialogue in Singapore and meet with 86 00:03:16,907 --> 00:03:18,907 many of his counterparts to include 87 00:03:18,907 --> 00:03:21,119 Singapore , Rock , Japan ASEAN and 88 00:03:21,130 --> 00:03:23,669 others . He is also planning to meet 89 00:03:23,679 --> 00:03:25,679 Admiral Dong , Minister of National 90 00:03:25,679 --> 00:03:27,679 Defense of the People's Republic of 91 00:03:27,679 --> 00:03:29,846 China in Cambodia . The secretary will 92 00:03:29,846 --> 00:03:31,901 meet with senior officials following 93 00:03:31,901 --> 00:03:34,089 his November 2022 visit to Phnom Penh 94 00:03:34,100 --> 00:03:36,630 for the ASEAN Defense Ministers meeting 95 00:03:36,639 --> 00:03:40,490 plus and in France , the secretary will 96 00:03:40,500 --> 00:03:42,611 participate in the president with the 97 00:03:42,611 --> 00:03:44,778 president in commemoration of the 80th 98 00:03:44,778 --> 00:03:46,833 anniversary of the D day invasion of 99 00:03:46,833 --> 00:03:48,944 Europe and World War Two . We will of 100 00:03:48,944 --> 00:03:51,056 course have more information on these 101 00:03:51,056 --> 00:03:53,389 events as they occur over the next week . 102 00:03:53,389 --> 00:03:53,199 And before I start taking questions 103 00:03:53,350 --> 00:03:55,919 like to welcome back , uh Natasha who 104 00:03:55,929 --> 00:03:57,429 also just got married . So 105 00:03:57,429 --> 00:03:59,880 congratulations and with that happy to 106 00:03:59,889 --> 00:04:02,056 jump into questions . So Tara , do you 107 00:04:02,056 --> 00:04:04,278 wanna start us off ? Sure , thank you . 108 00:04:04,278 --> 00:04:07,699 Um To start with the peer uh for the 109 00:04:07,710 --> 00:04:09,766 food aid that has not been delivered 110 00:04:09,766 --> 00:04:11,988 but was intended to go to the pier over 111 00:04:11,988 --> 00:04:13,654 this next week . Is there any 112 00:04:13,654 --> 00:04:15,821 alternative route for it to get to the 113 00:04:15,821 --> 00:04:17,654 people of Gaza such as increased 114 00:04:17,654 --> 00:04:19,766 airdrops , et cetera ? You're talking 115 00:04:19,766 --> 00:04:19,380 about the aid that's currently in 116 00:04:19,390 --> 00:04:21,519 Cyprus . Uh Right , that was going to 117 00:04:21,529 --> 00:04:23,751 be headed through the pier . So some of 118 00:04:23,751 --> 00:04:25,973 um that aid that is currently in Cyprus 119 00:04:25,973 --> 00:04:28,220 is being loaded onto vessels . So when 120 00:04:28,230 --> 00:04:31,010 the pier is re anchored back um onto 121 00:04:31,019 --> 00:04:33,250 the Gaza shore , uh that aid would 122 00:04:33,260 --> 00:04:35,371 already be prepositioned and can roll 123 00:04:35,371 --> 00:04:37,429 off pretty immediately . Um For the 124 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:39,709 rest of the aid . That's um in Cyprus , 125 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:41,776 that's still an ongoing conversation 126 00:04:41,776 --> 00:04:43,998 that USA ID is leaving leading in terms 127 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,899 of how best to move that aid to the to 128 00:04:46,910 --> 00:04:49,021 Gaza . And what about air drops ? Any 129 00:04:49,021 --> 00:04:51,021 talk about increasing the number of 130 00:04:51,021 --> 00:04:53,021 airdrops or anything like that ? Um 131 00:04:53,021 --> 00:04:55,243 Right now , I mean , we haven't , uh we 132 00:04:55,243 --> 00:04:57,466 continue to do airdrops when possible . 133 00:04:57,466 --> 00:04:59,688 Um I don't think airdrops would be done 134 00:04:59,688 --> 00:05:01,910 out of Cyprus , but if there's a way to 135 00:05:01,910 --> 00:05:03,966 move aid that we could reposition it 136 00:05:03,966 --> 00:05:06,077 somewhere else and be able to conduct 137 00:05:06,077 --> 00:05:08,077 an airdrop um from somewhere else , 138 00:05:08,077 --> 00:05:07,980 that would certainly be a possibility . 139 00:05:07,989 --> 00:05:10,156 But right now the aid that's in Cyprus 140 00:05:10,156 --> 00:05:12,211 would either be preloaded onto other 141 00:05:12,220 --> 00:05:15,790 vessels or rerouted via USA ID means 142 00:05:15,910 --> 00:05:18,077 just one more and then another topic . 143 00:05:18,077 --> 00:05:20,021 Um , the service members that were 144 00:05:20,021 --> 00:05:22,132 injured last week . What's the status 145 00:05:22,132 --> 00:05:24,243 of all those three ? Um I believe two 146 00:05:24,243 --> 00:05:26,410 of them have returned to duty . Um But 147 00:05:26,410 --> 00:05:28,466 you know what , let me , let me take 148 00:05:28,466 --> 00:05:28,420 that question on the two and those were 149 00:05:28,429 --> 00:05:30,540 minor injuries , but I believe we had 150 00:05:30,540 --> 00:05:32,707 read out that they were planning to be 151 00:05:32,707 --> 00:05:34,707 returned to duty . So , um , let me 152 00:05:34,707 --> 00:05:36,929 just get back to you on that . Um , the 153 00:05:36,929 --> 00:05:39,640 third service manager that was um uh in 154 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:42,220 critical condition still remains in 155 00:05:42,230 --> 00:05:45,230 critical condition . And then , um , on 156 00:05:45,239 --> 00:05:48,160 the airstrike this weekend in Rafah , 157 00:05:48,369 --> 00:05:50,940 um was it a US bomb that was used in 158 00:05:50,950 --> 00:05:53,579 that airstrike or us provided bomb that 159 00:05:53,589 --> 00:05:55,700 was used in that airstrike ? Have the 160 00:05:55,700 --> 00:05:57,811 Israelis been able to assure you that 161 00:05:57,811 --> 00:05:59,978 it wasn't , I do not know what type of 162 00:05:59,978 --> 00:06:02,089 munition was used in that airstrike . 163 00:06:02,089 --> 00:06:02,049 I'd have to refer you to the Israelis 164 00:06:02,059 --> 00:06:04,399 to speak to that . But if it was , 165 00:06:04,410 --> 00:06:07,100 shouldn't , I mean , shouldn't the US 166 00:06:07,109 --> 00:06:08,776 be doing something to prevent 167 00:06:08,776 --> 00:06:11,053 additional airstrikes like this ? Well , 168 00:06:11,053 --> 00:06:13,220 in every single case , uh whenever the 169 00:06:13,220 --> 00:06:15,331 secretary speaks to his counterpart , 170 00:06:15,331 --> 00:06:17,498 Minister Gallant , um and you've heard 171 00:06:17,498 --> 00:06:19,442 us say both publicly from here and 172 00:06:19,442 --> 00:06:22,160 privately . Uh we always urge um the ID 173 00:06:22,170 --> 00:06:25,140 F to consider civilian casualties in 174 00:06:25,149 --> 00:06:26,982 any type of operations that they 175 00:06:26,982 --> 00:06:29,899 conduct . Um We're gonna continue to 176 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:31,642 urge them to take every single 177 00:06:31,642 --> 00:06:33,799 precaution and to do more to protect 178 00:06:33,809 --> 00:06:35,865 innocent civilians . But in terms of 179 00:06:35,865 --> 00:06:37,976 this particular strike , I just don't 180 00:06:37,976 --> 00:06:40,429 have more information for you . I , I 181 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:42,607 understand because I get confused with 182 00:06:42,607 --> 00:06:44,384 terminology of the steer in the 183 00:06:44,384 --> 00:06:46,607 causeway . That thing that was attached 184 00:06:46,607 --> 00:06:48,718 to the coast of Gaza has been removed 185 00:06:48,718 --> 00:06:50,940 completely . It's , it's in the process 186 00:06:50,940 --> 00:06:50,540 of being removed to ash and then 187 00:06:50,549 --> 00:06:52,660 eventually come back . That's right . 188 00:06:52,660 --> 00:06:54,799 Think of it as the way I described it 189 00:06:54,809 --> 00:06:56,253 and I tried to make it as 190 00:06:56,459 --> 00:06:58,459 understandable as possible , but uh 191 00:06:58,459 --> 00:07:00,690 obviously not obviously having a visual 192 00:07:00,864 --> 00:07:03,086 kind of difficult think of that trident 193 00:07:03,086 --> 00:07:06,304 pier as having like a large t that top 194 00:07:06,315 --> 00:07:08,524 part of the t disconnected . So that 195 00:07:08,535 --> 00:07:10,591 has been recovered . But in order to 196 00:07:10,591 --> 00:07:12,646 reassemble everything , it's gonna , 197 00:07:12,646 --> 00:07:15,765 yep , it's gonna uh uh detach from the 198 00:07:15,774 --> 00:07:17,804 coastline , move up to ASHD , be 199 00:07:17,815 --> 00:07:19,982 reassembled and then reattach re anger 200 00:07:19,982 --> 00:07:22,739 back and just on Rafa . Um the 201 00:07:22,750 --> 00:07:24,583 secretary I'm sure has obviously 202 00:07:24,583 --> 00:07:26,583 received intel briefings . I'm sure 203 00:07:26,583 --> 00:07:28,750 he's seen images . What's his reaction 204 00:07:28,750 --> 00:07:30,639 been ? Um I mean , you know , the 205 00:07:30,639 --> 00:07:32,694 argument is this could not have been 206 00:07:32,694 --> 00:07:34,806 done without us weapons . Is he proud 207 00:07:34,806 --> 00:07:36,861 of being associated with the Israeli 208 00:07:36,861 --> 00:07:38,806 military which now appears to have 209 00:07:38,806 --> 00:07:41,028 killed , you know , tens of thousands , 210 00:07:41,028 --> 00:07:40,785 thousands of civilians and many 211 00:07:40,795 --> 00:07:42,962 Children just over the weekend . Is he 212 00:07:42,962 --> 00:07:45,184 proud ? Is he ashamed ? What's his sort 213 00:07:45,184 --> 00:07:47,462 of , how does he look at the situation , 214 00:07:47,462 --> 00:07:46,755 I guess , from an emotional standpoint , 215 00:07:46,765 --> 00:07:48,987 look , I think the secretary , like all 216 00:07:48,987 --> 00:07:51,154 of us saw the devastating imagery that 217 00:07:51,154 --> 00:07:53,376 came out of Rafah . I know you saw it , 218 00:07:53,376 --> 00:07:56,230 you posted about it as well with 219 00:07:56,239 --> 00:07:58,239 anything like this with any type of 220 00:07:58,239 --> 00:08:00,290 strike . Um , it's absolutely 221 00:08:00,299 --> 00:08:02,410 devastating to see the loss of life . 222 00:08:02,410 --> 00:08:04,470 Um , and that's why in every single 223 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:06,480 conversation that the secretary has 224 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:08,760 with Minister Gallant , um , he re 225 00:08:08,769 --> 00:08:10,991 emphasizes the fact that there needs to 226 00:08:10,991 --> 00:08:13,269 be more done to protect innocent lives . 227 00:08:13,269 --> 00:08:15,540 Um , we , I believe the secretary had a 228 00:08:15,549 --> 00:08:17,771 conversation with Minister Gallant last 229 00:08:17,771 --> 00:08:19,993 week . They talk almost weekly . Um , I 230 00:08:19,993 --> 00:08:22,105 don't have any calls to preview today 231 00:08:22,105 --> 00:08:25,059 or , or read out but assured you that 232 00:08:25,070 --> 00:08:27,292 any time he speaks to Mr Gallant , this 233 00:08:27,292 --> 00:08:29,348 is something that , that comes up in 234 00:08:29,348 --> 00:08:32,349 conversation , Nancy . Um , couple 235 00:08:32,359 --> 00:08:34,415 questions , Sergeant Sanders Kennedy 236 00:08:34,415 --> 00:08:36,581 Sanders family says they still haven't 237 00:08:36,581 --> 00:08:38,859 received an autopsy . She was killed 238 00:08:38,869 --> 00:08:41,150 January in Jordan and I was wondering 239 00:08:41,159 --> 00:08:43,159 if you could find at least take the 240 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:45,270 question why that hasn't happened and 241 00:08:45,270 --> 00:08:47,381 when they can get that , I don't have 242 00:08:47,381 --> 00:08:49,381 anything for you on that . Um , I'd 243 00:08:49,381 --> 00:08:51,548 refer you to , you know , the services 244 00:08:51,548 --> 00:08:53,715 to speak more on the autopsy results . 245 00:08:53,715 --> 00:08:53,669 It , it's obviously , um , if you're 246 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,239 talking about Tower 22 that is an 247 00:08:57,250 --> 00:08:59,361 ongoing investigation . So I'd assume 248 00:08:59,361 --> 00:09:01,361 it has to do with the investigation 249 00:09:01,361 --> 00:09:04,219 itself . I think the question and I 250 00:09:04,229 --> 00:09:06,173 wanna follow up on Tar and Andre's 251 00:09:06,173 --> 00:09:08,285 question because I guess I'm having a 252 00:09:08,289 --> 00:09:11,890 hard time understanding . Um , the 253 00:09:11,900 --> 00:09:14,067 secretary not that long ago was in the 254 00:09:14,067 --> 00:09:16,059 position of deciding whether to do 255 00:09:16,070 --> 00:09:18,359 strikes in the Middle East just last 256 00:09:18,369 --> 00:09:20,536 week . He said he needed to see things 257 00:09:20,536 --> 00:09:23,359 done a lot differently and this was a 258 00:09:23,369 --> 00:09:25,590 strike done adjacent to a displacement 259 00:09:25,599 --> 00:09:27,729 camp . I guess what I'm trying to 260 00:09:27,739 --> 00:09:31,229 understand is , um why does the 261 00:09:31,239 --> 00:09:33,719 secretary continue to support these 262 00:09:33,729 --> 00:09:37,159 kinds of operations in Rafah ? Um on 263 00:09:37,169 --> 00:09:39,169 sites where it's not clear that the 264 00:09:39,169 --> 00:09:42,400 risk was so imminent that it required 265 00:09:42,409 --> 00:09:44,919 conducting such a strike adjacent to a 266 00:09:44,929 --> 00:09:46,873 camp . You , you mentioned several 267 00:09:46,873 --> 00:09:49,320 times that the he mentions this in his 268 00:09:49,330 --> 00:09:51,890 calls with his Israeli counterpart . 269 00:09:51,900 --> 00:09:54,320 But um I think we've been hearing that 270 00:09:54,330 --> 00:09:56,386 for months and it doesn't seem to be 271 00:09:56,386 --> 00:09:58,552 changing the course . So given that he 272 00:09:58,552 --> 00:10:00,663 showed so much discretion when he was 273 00:10:00,663 --> 00:10:02,830 in uniform that he's called for things 274 00:10:02,830 --> 00:10:04,774 to be done a lot differently . I'm 275 00:10:04,774 --> 00:10:06,997 having a hard time understanding why he 276 00:10:06,997 --> 00:10:08,719 continues to support the rifle 277 00:10:08,719 --> 00:10:10,941 operation as it's been carried out thus 278 00:10:10,941 --> 00:10:13,090 far . Thanks Nancy for the question . 279 00:10:13,390 --> 00:10:15,869 Um So I think we have to separate 280 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,469 things a bit . Um I think they , I 281 00:10:18,479 --> 00:10:20,701 don't think you mean this , but I think 282 00:10:20,701 --> 00:10:22,701 the question is implying that we're 283 00:10:22,701 --> 00:10:24,423 somehow green lighting Israeli 284 00:10:24,423 --> 00:10:26,646 operations as they happen in Rafah . We 285 00:10:26,646 --> 00:10:28,701 aren't have to make this very , very 286 00:10:28,701 --> 00:10:30,812 clear . We're not on the ground , not 287 00:10:30,812 --> 00:10:32,979 our operations . We have nothing to do 288 00:10:32,979 --> 00:10:32,609 with how they conduct operations on the 289 00:10:32,619 --> 00:10:34,897 ground . And as the secretary has said , 290 00:10:34,897 --> 00:10:37,469 we don't support a large scale 291 00:10:37,479 --> 00:10:40,330 operation within Rafa . We are seeing 292 00:10:40,340 --> 00:10:42,270 movements within Rafa . We are of 293 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:44,549 course seeing the imagery that came 294 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:47,030 from the strike that happened um over 295 00:10:47,039 --> 00:10:49,780 the weekend , no matter what anyone 296 00:10:49,789 --> 00:10:52,011 says , those images what's happening on 297 00:10:52,011 --> 00:10:53,900 the ground , it's horrific , it's 298 00:10:53,900 --> 00:10:56,640 heartbreaking and it needs to stop . We 299 00:10:56,650 --> 00:10:58,750 also have to remember that we are 300 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:00,593 supporting Israel in their fight 301 00:11:00,593 --> 00:11:02,704 against Hamas and this is a terrorist 302 00:11:02,704 --> 00:11:04,871 organization that embeds itself within 303 00:11:04,871 --> 00:11:07,489 tunnels that is using hostages , 304 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:10,039 innocent civilians as human , as human 305 00:11:10,049 --> 00:11:12,820 shields and continues to do so . So we 306 00:11:12,830 --> 00:11:15,409 are going to support Israel as they 307 00:11:15,419 --> 00:11:18,330 work to defeat Hamas . But we're also 308 00:11:18,340 --> 00:11:20,330 gonna continue to tell Israel both 309 00:11:20,340 --> 00:11:22,659 publicly and privately that absolutely 310 00:11:22,669 --> 00:11:24,780 more can be done and should be done . 311 00:11:24,780 --> 00:11:26,836 And we're not hesitating from that . 312 00:11:26,836 --> 00:11:28,780 And every time the secretary has a 313 00:11:28,780 --> 00:11:31,002 conversation with Mr Gallant , um it is 314 00:11:31,002 --> 00:11:33,830 direct , it is very frank and um it's 315 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:35,880 re it's respectful , but he is very 316 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:38,270 direct . And um , you know , I think 317 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,447 again , we're going to continue to say 318 00:11:40,447 --> 00:11:42,447 that from , from here , both , both 319 00:11:42,447 --> 00:11:44,613 publicly and privately . But II I have 320 00:11:44,613 --> 00:11:46,669 to urge you to remember that this is 321 00:11:46,669 --> 00:11:48,724 not our operation . We're not on the 322 00:11:48,724 --> 00:11:50,950 ground and therefore , um we can't , 323 00:11:51,229 --> 00:11:53,229 we're not calling the shots as they 324 00:11:53,229 --> 00:11:55,451 happen . I appreciate that . But the US 325 00:11:55,451 --> 00:11:57,618 is providing weapons . I wonder if you 326 00:11:57,618 --> 00:11:59,673 could , if we could get a list or do 327 00:11:59,673 --> 00:12:01,896 you ? It , it's be a question to take . 328 00:12:01,896 --> 00:12:05,320 When has the US conducted a strike near 329 00:12:05,330 --> 00:12:07,497 a displacement camp within a kilometer 330 00:12:07,497 --> 00:12:09,552 or two of one ? Just to give me some 331 00:12:09,552 --> 00:12:11,890 sense of um how the US has conducted 332 00:12:11,900 --> 00:12:14,067 operations around displacement camps . 333 00:12:14,067 --> 00:12:16,122 I can't think of one offhand , but I 334 00:12:16,122 --> 00:12:15,760 was wondering if that was a question . 335 00:12:15,770 --> 00:12:17,937 Yeah , I think in terms of what you're 336 00:12:17,937 --> 00:12:20,309 referring to is in , um , what was , 337 00:12:20,330 --> 00:12:22,441 what the Israelis have said about the 338 00:12:22,441 --> 00:12:25,059 rath operation . Um , and I'm just 339 00:12:25,169 --> 00:12:27,391 trying to understand if , if we can get 340 00:12:27,391 --> 00:12:29,289 a list of , I can't think of an 341 00:12:29,299 --> 00:12:31,410 instance where the US has conducted a 342 00:12:31,410 --> 00:12:33,466 strike so near a displacement camp . 343 00:12:33,466 --> 00:12:35,521 And I'm just trying to send , ask if 344 00:12:35,521 --> 00:12:35,520 there's a way we , if that would be a 345 00:12:35,530 --> 00:12:37,363 question to take in case there's 346 00:12:37,363 --> 00:12:39,474 something I'm missing again . Totally 347 00:12:39,474 --> 00:12:41,752 hear your , totally hear your question . 348 00:12:41,752 --> 00:12:43,530 But just again , if I take that 349 00:12:43,530 --> 00:12:45,641 question , we're comparing apples and 350 00:12:45,641 --> 00:12:47,752 oranges and right now , the US is not 351 00:12:47,752 --> 00:12:49,919 on the ground in Gaza . So let me just 352 00:12:49,940 --> 00:12:52,051 holistically , what we are looking at 353 00:12:52,051 --> 00:12:54,760 right now is an operation in Rafah or 354 00:12:54,770 --> 00:12:56,826 in , in , in Gaza . That is that the 355 00:12:56,826 --> 00:12:59,048 United States government has nothing to 356 00:12:59,048 --> 00:13:01,214 do with that has nothing . We're not , 357 00:13:01,214 --> 00:13:03,326 we're not on the ground . This is not 358 00:13:03,326 --> 00:13:03,210 our operation . Uh Yes , we are 359 00:13:03,219 --> 00:13:05,330 continuing to provide Israel with the 360 00:13:05,330 --> 00:13:07,552 weapons . It needs to defeat Hamas . Um 361 00:13:07,552 --> 00:13:09,719 And we certainly welcome the reports . 362 00:13:09,719 --> 00:13:11,663 Uh I think overnight or early this 363 00:13:11,663 --> 00:13:13,830 morning that an investigation has been 364 00:13:13,830 --> 00:13:16,052 opened to look into this incident . But 365 00:13:16,052 --> 00:13:18,275 again , we can't compare the two things 366 00:13:18,275 --> 00:13:20,386 because we're not on the ground doing 367 00:13:20,386 --> 00:13:22,608 these operations . And I have to remind 368 00:13:22,608 --> 00:13:24,663 you that uh Hamas has created and is 369 00:13:24,663 --> 00:13:26,426 operating in a very condensed 370 00:13:26,435 --> 00:13:28,491 environment and an environment where 371 00:13:28,491 --> 00:13:30,602 they have a very intricate network of 372 00:13:30,602 --> 00:13:32,824 tunnel systems that frankly we have not 373 00:13:32,824 --> 00:13:34,713 been up against . So again , it's 374 00:13:34,713 --> 00:13:36,879 comparing apples and oranges here . So 375 00:13:36,879 --> 00:13:39,102 I just , I urge you to take a step back 376 00:13:39,102 --> 00:13:39,101 here and , and I , and I understand the 377 00:13:39,111 --> 00:13:41,055 question , I understand the intent 378 00:13:41,055 --> 00:13:43,111 behind it . Um But I do just have to 379 00:13:43,111 --> 00:13:45,278 urge that these are two very different 380 00:13:45,278 --> 00:13:47,651 situations . All right , I'm gonna move 381 00:13:47,851 --> 00:13:51,171 on just a second ago . You said you 382 00:13:51,182 --> 00:13:53,182 guys have nothing to do with what's 383 00:13:53,182 --> 00:13:55,182 going on on the ground . We have no 384 00:13:55,182 --> 00:13:57,015 boots on the ground . It's not a 385 00:13:57,015 --> 00:13:59,238 military operation . The administration 386 00:13:59,238 --> 00:14:01,238 in recent weeks says without weapon 387 00:14:01,238 --> 00:14:03,293 shipments for reasons that have been 388 00:14:03,293 --> 00:14:05,349 said to , I guess , alter or prevent 389 00:14:05,349 --> 00:14:07,349 the Israelis from doing what the US 390 00:14:07,349 --> 00:14:09,700 doesn't want to happen in . So , is it 391 00:14:09,710 --> 00:14:11,877 still the Pentagon's assessment ? This 392 00:14:11,877 --> 00:14:14,099 is a limited , was the terminology used 393 00:14:14,099 --> 00:14:16,043 here ? Limited operation . Is that 394 00:14:16,043 --> 00:14:16,020 still the assessment ? That is right 395 00:14:16,030 --> 00:14:18,141 now ? It is still our assessment that 396 00:14:18,141 --> 00:14:20,363 what is happening in R and what the IDF 397 00:14:20,363 --> 00:14:22,500 are doing ? It is limited in scope . 398 00:14:22,890 --> 00:14:24,668 And so what is the department's 399 00:14:24,668 --> 00:14:26,723 assessment of what happened over the 400 00:14:26,723 --> 00:14:29,057 weekend ? Well , we're still waiting to , 401 00:14:29,057 --> 00:14:30,612 uh , see the results of the 402 00:14:30,612 --> 00:14:32,834 investigation which was just started by 403 00:14:32,834 --> 00:14:35,679 the ID F I believe this weekend . Um , 404 00:14:35,849 --> 00:14:38,159 they have released , uh , some initial 405 00:14:38,169 --> 00:14:40,729 findings about that . You know that 406 00:14:40,739 --> 00:14:43,090 strike that occurred . But um I don't 407 00:14:43,099 --> 00:14:44,877 really want to get ahead of the 408 00:14:44,877 --> 00:14:46,877 investigation . We need to see what 409 00:14:46,877 --> 00:14:48,988 they present us and then , you know , 410 00:14:48,988 --> 00:14:51,099 happy to uh get back to you on that , 411 00:14:51,099 --> 00:14:53,155 reach out to them asking or did they 412 00:14:53,155 --> 00:14:52,789 reach out to you guys trying to explain 413 00:14:52,799 --> 00:14:55,349 what happened ? Uh You , as you can 414 00:14:55,359 --> 00:14:57,349 imagine , all levels of this uh 415 00:14:57,359 --> 00:14:59,470 government at different agencies were 416 00:14:59,470 --> 00:15:01,581 in touch with uh various counterparts 417 00:15:01,581 --> 00:15:03,637 throughout the weekend to figure out 418 00:15:03,637 --> 00:15:05,803 and determine uh what exactly happened 419 00:15:05,803 --> 00:15:07,915 and to get more information , um this 420 00:15:07,915 --> 00:15:10,081 is just developing over the last 24 48 421 00:15:10,081 --> 00:15:12,280 hours . So , uh when we have more 422 00:15:12,289 --> 00:15:14,345 information , I'm certainly happy to 423 00:15:14,345 --> 00:15:16,122 share it , but right now it's a 424 00:15:16,122 --> 00:15:18,345 preliminary investigation . Um and we , 425 00:15:18,345 --> 00:15:20,511 we , we have to allow that to continue 426 00:15:20,511 --> 00:15:24,080 its course . Do you have an I ? So the 427 00:15:24,090 --> 00:15:26,049 cost was around 320 million , the 428 00:15:26,059 --> 00:15:28,510 ballpark that you guys gave um is that 429 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,010 320 million ? You guys have to spend 430 00:15:31,020 --> 00:15:33,650 that again . What's the ? No , we don't 431 00:15:33,659 --> 00:15:35,760 have to spend it again . Um I don't 432 00:15:35,770 --> 00:15:38,099 have an updated budget cost , but our 433 00:15:38,109 --> 00:15:39,998 initial assessments is , is still 434 00:15:39,998 --> 00:15:43,020 approximately around $300 million . Um 435 00:15:43,030 --> 00:15:44,863 Should that change ? Should that 436 00:15:44,863 --> 00:15:46,752 fluctuate either up or down ? I'd 437 00:15:46,752 --> 00:15:48,863 certainly let you know , Laura . Oh , 438 00:15:48,863 --> 00:15:51,030 I'm sorry , can I go to Liz ? And then 439 00:15:51,030 --> 00:15:53,141 Laura , I had pointed to Liz and then 440 00:15:53,141 --> 00:15:55,252 I'll come to you . Thanks Serina . Um 441 00:15:55,252 --> 00:15:57,419 do you have a projected number of like 442 00:15:57,419 --> 00:15:57,130 the amount of aid that is gonna be 443 00:15:57,140 --> 00:15:59,251 delayed because of the suspension . I 444 00:15:59,251 --> 00:16:01,307 don't have a projected number of the 445 00:16:01,307 --> 00:16:03,418 amount of aid . That's something that 446 00:16:03,418 --> 00:16:05,640 us aid might be able to speak to just a 447 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:07,862 bit better about what's , um , actually 448 00:16:07,862 --> 00:16:10,084 housed and allocated in Cyprus . Um , I 449 00:16:10,090 --> 00:16:12,257 certainly , I mean , I would point out 450 00:16:12,257 --> 00:16:14,479 the fact that , you know , we have been 451 00:16:14,479 --> 00:16:16,590 able to surge or get over 1000 metric 452 00:16:16,590 --> 00:16:19,030 tons over that pier into Gaza . So we 453 00:16:19,039 --> 00:16:20,983 know it's effective , but the most 454 00:16:20,983 --> 00:16:23,039 efficient way to get aid in would be 455 00:16:23,039 --> 00:16:25,317 through the land routes . And you said , 456 00:16:25,317 --> 00:16:27,483 you said a few minutes ago , Secretary 457 00:16:27,483 --> 00:16:27,190 Austin continues to have hard 458 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:28,922 conversations with his Israeli 459 00:16:28,922 --> 00:16:30,644 counterpart . Um How does this 460 00:16:30,644 --> 00:16:32,867 suspension affect those conversations ? 461 00:16:32,867 --> 00:16:34,756 I know he's been pushing for land 462 00:16:34,756 --> 00:16:38,099 routes . How does the conversations 463 00:16:38,140 --> 00:16:41,000 affect the suspension of the fact that 464 00:16:41,010 --> 00:16:44,659 this isn't working as it should because 465 00:16:44,669 --> 00:16:47,349 of the tough sea states ? Um You know , 466 00:16:47,359 --> 00:16:49,909 does this create more of a need for 467 00:16:49,919 --> 00:16:52,086 land routes or how is he going to deal 468 00:16:52,086 --> 00:16:54,710 with it ? There's never , there's never 469 00:16:54,719 --> 00:16:56,608 been a time where we haven't been 470 00:16:56,608 --> 00:16:58,663 advocating for the land routes to be 471 00:16:58,663 --> 00:17:00,775 open . And at a certain point when we 472 00:17:00,775 --> 00:17:02,608 did see a closing or um less aid 473 00:17:02,608 --> 00:17:04,830 getting in through the crossings , that 474 00:17:04,830 --> 00:17:07,052 was something that you heard , not just 475 00:17:07,052 --> 00:17:06,810 from the secretary urging but from 476 00:17:06,819 --> 00:17:08,819 different levels of government , um 477 00:17:08,819 --> 00:17:11,709 different agencies urging for um these 478 00:17:11,719 --> 00:17:14,369 land routes to open . You saw um the 479 00:17:14,380 --> 00:17:16,602 National Security Advisor also recently 480 00:17:16,602 --> 00:17:18,436 in the region . Um So again , we 481 00:17:18,436 --> 00:17:20,658 continue to urge for the land crossings 482 00:17:20,658 --> 00:17:22,324 to be opened at all levels of 483 00:17:22,324 --> 00:17:24,380 government . Um , as we said , and I 484 00:17:24,380 --> 00:17:26,602 know , I know I'm reiterating something 485 00:17:26,602 --> 00:17:28,380 that , you know , but this is a 486 00:17:28,380 --> 00:17:28,159 temporary pier . It's a temporary 487 00:17:28,168 --> 00:17:30,001 solution . It is not going to be 488 00:17:30,001 --> 00:17:32,328 anywhere near getting close into how 489 00:17:32,338 --> 00:17:34,448 many trucks can get into Gaza um 490 00:17:34,458 --> 00:17:36,979 through the pier . So um in any of the 491 00:17:36,989 --> 00:17:39,045 conversations that the secretary has 492 00:17:39,045 --> 00:17:41,100 with Minister Galant , it's always a 493 00:17:41,100 --> 00:17:43,211 topic , the humanitarian assistance , 494 00:17:43,211 --> 00:17:45,322 it consistently comes up . Um And the 495 00:17:45,322 --> 00:17:47,267 Israelis , we are seeing more land 496 00:17:47,267 --> 00:17:49,322 crossings opening up , we are seeing 497 00:17:49,322 --> 00:17:51,545 more trucks getting in . Is it enough ? 498 00:17:51,545 --> 00:17:53,711 It's not more needs to be done . Um We 499 00:17:53,711 --> 00:17:55,933 need to see those crossings continue to 500 00:17:55,933 --> 00:17:58,156 open up to allow more trucks in Laura . 501 00:17:58,156 --> 00:18:00,100 Thank you . I just wanted to ask a 502 00:18:00,100 --> 00:18:02,267 separate question about Rafa but there 503 00:18:02,267 --> 00:18:04,489 have been some reports today that um of 504 00:18:04,489 --> 00:18:06,600 Israeli tanks in central Rafa . I was 505 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:08,545 wondering if you could verify that 506 00:18:08,545 --> 00:18:10,656 information . Um And then also Israel 507 00:18:10,656 --> 00:18:12,767 has said it's expanding its operation 508 00:18:12,767 --> 00:18:14,822 in Rafah . So is this does dod still 509 00:18:14,822 --> 00:18:17,156 assess that this is a limited operation ? 510 00:18:17,156 --> 00:18:19,322 Yeah , nothing has changed from what I 511 00:18:19,322 --> 00:18:21,433 said earlier . We still assess it's a 512 00:18:21,433 --> 00:18:23,600 limited operation . Um I've seen those 513 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:25,822 reports . We are seeing movement within 514 00:18:25,822 --> 00:18:25,040 Rafa . That doesn't mean that its 515 00:18:25,050 --> 00:18:27,439 limitation and its scope and scale has 516 00:18:27,449 --> 00:18:29,949 changed . Are we still , is the US 517 00:18:29,959 --> 00:18:31,949 still sending weapons to Israel ? 518 00:18:31,959 --> 00:18:34,181 Security assistance continues to flow ? 519 00:18:34,181 --> 00:18:36,126 When was the last time there was a 520 00:18:36,140 --> 00:18:38,362 weapon that II , I don't know , I don't 521 00:18:38,362 --> 00:18:41,589 have as , as aid continues to flow off . 522 00:18:41,599 --> 00:18:43,266 Uh , it's , you know , pretty 523 00:18:43,266 --> 00:18:45,266 consistent but I directed the State 524 00:18:45,266 --> 00:18:47,321 Department for more because it's all 525 00:18:47,321 --> 00:18:49,432 through sales sending additional dumb 526 00:18:49,432 --> 00:18:51,655 bombs . Was it only that one shipment ? 527 00:18:51,655 --> 00:18:50,890 That was only that one shipment that 528 00:18:50,900 --> 00:18:53,949 was paused ? I don't have anything 529 00:18:53,959 --> 00:18:56,181 again . I don't have anything for you . 530 00:18:56,181 --> 00:18:58,181 I don't have like a readout of what 531 00:18:58,181 --> 00:19:01,339 we've sent to , uh , Israel . Since , 532 00:19:01,349 --> 00:19:03,959 um , since we paused that shipment , we 533 00:19:03,969 --> 00:19:06,080 did pause that shipment that included 534 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,302 that those £2000 bombs . I'm not aware 535 00:19:08,302 --> 00:19:10,469 that we've sent any more . But again , 536 00:19:10,469 --> 00:19:12,469 security system continues to flow . 537 00:19:12,469 --> 00:19:15,560 They have what they need to , uh , 538 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,040 defeat Hamas , but I don't have a read 539 00:19:20,050 --> 00:19:22,161 out of every specific weapon system . 540 00:19:22,161 --> 00:19:24,161 Munition , everything that has been 541 00:19:24,161 --> 00:19:26,439 sent to Israel since that pause in that 542 00:19:26,449 --> 00:19:28,560 one shipment . Constantine . Thanks . 543 00:19:29,130 --> 00:19:31,352 You mentioned earlier in your statement 544 00:19:31,352 --> 00:19:33,420 that the four army boats broke free 545 00:19:33,430 --> 00:19:35,597 from the Rancor due to a loss in power 546 00:19:35,597 --> 00:19:37,763 and subsequently beached ashore . So , 547 00:19:37,763 --> 00:19:39,874 just to clarify , did the boat suffer 548 00:19:39,874 --> 00:19:41,874 some sort of malfunction or problem 549 00:19:41,874 --> 00:19:44,152 aboard ? I'm not aware of any problems . 550 00:19:44,152 --> 00:19:46,374 A border malfunction . I believe it was 551 00:19:46,374 --> 00:19:46,214 because of the high sea states that it 552 00:19:46,224 --> 00:19:48,755 caused it to that . It caused the 553 00:19:48,765 --> 00:19:50,932 vessels to lose power . Ok . Got you . 554 00:19:51,275 --> 00:19:53,915 Um And just a quick follow up . So 555 00:19:53,925 --> 00:19:56,395 three of the army boats are still 556 00:19:56,405 --> 00:19:58,572 beached ashore is their recovery being 557 00:19:58,572 --> 00:20:00,734 complicated by the fact that we are 558 00:20:00,744 --> 00:20:02,855 barred . The soldiers are barred from 559 00:20:02,855 --> 00:20:05,344 setting boots on the ground in Gaza . 560 00:20:05,675 --> 00:20:08,719 No , the Israeli Navy has been uh 561 00:20:08,729 --> 00:20:10,951 supportive partner and making sure that 562 00:20:10,951 --> 00:20:12,840 we can get those vessels back and 563 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,880 operational . Um It wasn't a hindrance 564 00:20:15,890 --> 00:20:17,890 when we had to anchor the temporary 565 00:20:17,890 --> 00:20:21,569 pier into Gaza . We had worked with um 566 00:20:21,579 --> 00:20:24,489 Israeli engineers um gone through the 567 00:20:24,500 --> 00:20:26,722 proper training in order that needed to 568 00:20:26,722 --> 00:20:28,910 be done to anchor that pier into the 569 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:31,087 coast . So , no , it's not a hindrance 570 00:20:31,087 --> 00:20:34,785 at all . Thank you , pull the 571 00:20:34,795 --> 00:20:36,739 remains of the uh the pier back to 572 00:20:36,739 --> 00:20:38,984 Israel and then bring it back to Gaza . 573 00:20:38,994 --> 00:20:41,145 What's to stop it from breaking apart 574 00:20:41,155 --> 00:20:43,266 again ? The next time the waves get a 575 00:20:43,266 --> 00:20:45,155 little choppy and is this thing a 576 00:20:45,155 --> 00:20:47,155 little too delicate for use in this 577 00:20:47,155 --> 00:20:49,377 situation ? That's a good question . Um 578 00:20:49,377 --> 00:20:51,211 I think unfortunately , we had a 579 00:20:51,211 --> 00:20:53,377 perfect storm of high sea states . And 580 00:20:53,377 --> 00:20:56,645 then , as I mentioned , um this North 581 00:20:56,655 --> 00:20:58,822 African weather system also came in at 582 00:20:58,822 --> 00:21:02,510 the same time creating um uh not an 583 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,469 optimal uh environment to operate this 584 00:21:05,479 --> 00:21:09,040 J lots uh this temporary pier . Um Look , 585 00:21:09,050 --> 00:21:12,640 I can't predict the weather . Uh But we 586 00:21:12,650 --> 00:21:16,069 believe that uh given the time of year , 587 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:20,030 um uh we will be able to re anchor 588 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,040 this pier and it will be able to be 589 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,207 operational and hopefully , uh weather 590 00:21:24,207 --> 00:21:26,262 conditions won't hinder it anymore . 591 00:21:26,262 --> 00:21:28,596 But we always make assessments based on , 592 00:21:28,596 --> 00:21:30,762 you know , factors and if we need to , 593 00:21:30,900 --> 00:21:33,969 you know , adjust we will , but uh we 594 00:21:33,979 --> 00:21:36,146 hope that it will be fully operational 595 00:21:36,146 --> 00:21:38,099 with just a little over a week to 596 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,150 Sabrina . Um Nikki Haley was on the 597 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:43,271 border with Lebanon today in northern 598 00:21:43,271 --> 00:21:45,493 Israel and she was photographed writing 599 00:21:45,493 --> 00:21:47,716 on a bomb . Finish them . America loves 600 00:21:47,716 --> 00:21:49,993 Israel . Is that sort of thing helpful ? 601 00:21:49,993 --> 00:21:51,993 And what do you make of a potential 602 00:21:51,993 --> 00:21:53,938 shadow cabinet member traveling to 603 00:21:53,938 --> 00:21:56,160 Israel ? I don't have a comment on that 604 00:21:56,170 --> 00:21:58,609 one . I know you said you welcome the 605 00:21:58,619 --> 00:22:00,619 Israeli probe into what happened in 606 00:22:00,619 --> 00:22:02,770 Rafah . Um Does the Pentagon deem 607 00:22:02,780 --> 00:22:06,089 credible the I ID F claim that this 608 00:22:06,099 --> 00:22:08,709 attack was a mistake ? Well , that's 609 00:22:08,719 --> 00:22:10,941 certainly what the investigation should 610 00:22:10,941 --> 00:22:13,130 reveal and we have confidence that a 611 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,447 government like the Israeli government 612 00:22:15,447 --> 00:22:17,669 can investigate and can do a proper and 613 00:22:17,669 --> 00:22:21,369 thorough investigation just on the , on 614 00:22:21,380 --> 00:22:23,491 the boats that went onto the shore at 615 00:22:23,491 --> 00:22:25,713 Gaza . There was how did the sailors or 616 00:22:25,713 --> 00:22:28,069 the soldiers get off the boats ? Like 617 00:22:28,079 --> 00:22:30,023 they didn't at any point go on the 618 00:22:30,023 --> 00:22:32,239 beach . I believe most of our soldiers 619 00:22:32,250 --> 00:22:35,755 were able to remain on the and uh 620 00:22:35,765 --> 00:22:39,314 still are , are currently on them . And 621 00:22:39,324 --> 00:22:41,435 that will be , um , you know , within 622 00:22:41,435 --> 00:22:43,925 the next 24 48 hours , uh the Israeli 623 00:22:43,935 --> 00:22:47,354 Navy will be helping uh push those 624 00:22:47,364 --> 00:22:49,475 vessels back and hopefully they'll be 625 00:22:49,475 --> 00:22:51,475 fully operational by then . Anton . 626 00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:55,250 Thank you . Thank you . Um So I 627 00:22:55,260 --> 00:22:57,316 asked you a question about 21 days , 628 00:22:57,316 --> 00:22:59,482 three weeks ago here that , you know , 629 00:22:59,482 --> 00:23:01,649 this vague distinction between a major 630 00:23:01,649 --> 00:23:03,482 military operation and a limited 631 00:23:03,482 --> 00:23:05,704 military operation or ra and you said , 632 00:23:05,704 --> 00:23:07,871 quote , a military operation would put 633 00:23:07,871 --> 00:23:09,927 at risk , civilian lives and they're 634 00:23:09,927 --> 00:23:09,550 against anything that puts civilian 635 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,260 lives at risk on Sunday . It not only 636 00:23:12,270 --> 00:23:14,437 put civilian lives at risk , it burned 637 00:23:14,437 --> 00:23:16,603 them alive and decapitated the child . 638 00:23:16,603 --> 00:23:19,699 Is this policy of major limited 639 00:23:19,819 --> 00:23:22,079 supportive , non supportive ? Is this 640 00:23:22,089 --> 00:23:24,311 policy not failed , would you not say ? 641 00:23:24,311 --> 00:23:26,367 And is this not enabling the Israeli 642 00:23:26,367 --> 00:23:28,478 government to do whatever they like ? 643 00:23:28,478 --> 00:23:30,645 Because it's not , it's limited but it 644 00:23:30,645 --> 00:23:32,756 burned 45 people . So what like , you 645 00:23:32,756 --> 00:23:34,978 know , that's kind of the stance in the 646 00:23:34,978 --> 00:23:36,700 Israeli government . Well , we 647 00:23:36,700 --> 00:23:38,867 certainly take seriously what happened 648 00:23:38,867 --> 00:23:40,978 over the weekend . We've all seen the 649 00:23:40,978 --> 00:23:43,145 images . They're absolutely horrific . 650 00:23:43,145 --> 00:23:45,089 Um To Nancy's question earlier , I 651 00:23:45,089 --> 00:23:47,200 mentioned that the secretary has very 652 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:49,422 direct and frank conversations with his 653 00:23:49,422 --> 00:23:51,650 counterpart . Um That's exactly what 654 00:23:51,660 --> 00:23:53,882 they are . They are tough conversations 655 00:23:53,882 --> 00:23:56,049 and we do have them with our friends . 656 00:23:56,049 --> 00:23:58,160 Um And we are going to continue to do 657 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,880 that . Um Do we support what happened 658 00:24:00,890 --> 00:24:03,057 over the weekend ? Of , of course , we 659 00:24:03,057 --> 00:24:05,168 don't want to see a loss of life like 660 00:24:05,168 --> 00:24:07,057 that . We don't want to see these 661 00:24:07,057 --> 00:24:09,223 images as much as you don't . Um and , 662 00:24:09,223 --> 00:24:11,334 you know , it certainly speaks to the 663 00:24:11,334 --> 00:24:11,199 challenges of what's happening on the 664 00:24:11,209 --> 00:24:13,376 ground , but we absolutely want to see 665 00:24:13,376 --> 00:24:15,880 innocent lives protected . And that's 666 00:24:15,890 --> 00:24:18,001 why publicly privately we're going to 667 00:24:18,001 --> 00:24:21,599 continue to urge , um , uh , the 668 00:24:21,609 --> 00:24:23,719 Israeli the IDF when they conduct 669 00:24:23,729 --> 00:24:25,680 operations to take into account 670 00:24:25,689 --> 00:24:28,260 civilian casualties , if Reece asked 671 00:24:28,270 --> 00:24:30,603 that question actually . But , you know , 672 00:24:30,603 --> 00:24:32,603 you said that you don't want to see 673 00:24:32,603 --> 00:24:32,300 those pictures , I definitely don't 674 00:24:32,310 --> 00:24:34,477 want to . But if I sat through a phone 675 00:24:34,477 --> 00:24:36,643 call with the Israeli Defense Minister 676 00:24:36,643 --> 00:24:38,866 many times that they were explaining to 677 00:24:38,866 --> 00:24:41,088 me that it's a mistake . We're going to 678 00:24:41,088 --> 00:24:43,199 conduct investigations , I think , to 679 00:24:43,199 --> 00:24:45,254 say the least I'd be frustrated or I 680 00:24:45,254 --> 00:24:47,254 feel like I was being fooled . So , 681 00:24:47,254 --> 00:24:49,310 what's the mood in this department ? 682 00:24:49,310 --> 00:24:51,366 Like you keep hearing the same thing 683 00:24:51,366 --> 00:24:53,699 and you're relaying the same things and , 684 00:24:53,699 --> 00:24:53,650 you know , dates change months change , 685 00:24:53,660 --> 00:24:55,660 but like the , the statements don't 686 00:24:55,660 --> 00:24:57,882 really change . Well , I think you have 687 00:24:57,882 --> 00:25:00,104 to also appreciate that . Uh , we don't 688 00:25:00,104 --> 00:25:02,216 read out every nitty gritty detail of 689 00:25:02,216 --> 00:25:04,382 conversations , but we do believe that 690 00:25:04,382 --> 00:25:06,604 when it comes to some of the operations 691 00:25:06,604 --> 00:25:08,827 and some of the ways that , um , the ID 692 00:25:08,827 --> 00:25:11,484 F has conducted itself within Gaza that 693 00:25:11,494 --> 00:25:13,550 they have listened to us , that they 694 00:25:13,550 --> 00:25:15,550 have taken into some of the lessons 695 00:25:15,550 --> 00:25:17,605 that we have learned and some of the 696 00:25:17,605 --> 00:25:19,550 things that , you know , Secretary 697 00:25:19,550 --> 00:25:21,661 Austin certainly imparted on Minister 698 00:25:21,661 --> 00:25:24,890 Gallant . Um , again , we don't want to 699 00:25:24,900 --> 00:25:27,239 see this tragic loss of life continue . 700 00:25:27,250 --> 00:25:29,920 We con , we urge the Israelis , uh , 701 00:25:29,930 --> 00:25:32,160 the ID F to do better when it comes to 702 00:25:32,239 --> 00:25:34,540 taking into account civilian lives and , 703 00:25:34,550 --> 00:25:36,709 and civilian harm . Um , and we're 704 00:25:36,719 --> 00:25:38,386 gonna , I know it might sound 705 00:25:38,386 --> 00:25:40,880 frustrating to you but , uh , what we 706 00:25:40,890 --> 00:25:43,057 can do with our friends is to continue 707 00:25:43,057 --> 00:25:45,112 to have these hard conversations and 708 00:25:45,112 --> 00:25:47,057 that's exactly what we're going to 709 00:25:47,057 --> 00:25:49,168 continue to do . Yeah . In the back . 710 00:25:49,168 --> 00:25:51,223 Yeah . Thank you for doing this . Uh 711 00:25:51,223 --> 00:25:53,279 change the topic to the North Korean 712 00:25:53,279 --> 00:25:55,334 launch of the uh military since SATA 713 00:25:55,334 --> 00:25:57,501 yesterday . Uh So North Korea said the 714 00:25:57,501 --> 00:26:00,729 launch fell uh due to the uh air blast 715 00:26:00,739 --> 00:26:04,030 of the new type sat carrier locket 716 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,449 during the first stage flight . And 717 00:26:06,459 --> 00:26:08,569 also the cause of the accident is 718 00:26:08,579 --> 00:26:11,280 attributable to the reliability of 719 00:26:11,290 --> 00:26:14,589 operation of the newly developed liquid 720 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:18,630 oxygen uh pro petroleum engine . So 721 00:26:19,180 --> 00:26:22,150 what is the US assessment on on this uh 722 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:25,040 launch ? And secondly , uh do you see 723 00:26:25,050 --> 00:26:28,770 any evidence or signs that uh L has 724 00:26:28,780 --> 00:26:31,339 supplied the first stage locket for the 725 00:26:31,349 --> 00:26:34,449 latest run or any assistance to the 726 00:26:34,459 --> 00:26:36,626 North Korea ? I don't have anything on 727 00:26:36,626 --> 00:26:38,792 for the latter part of your question . 728 00:26:38,792 --> 00:26:42,650 Uh uh Re Russia and North Korea . Um 729 00:26:42,660 --> 00:26:44,604 On the first part , I believe Indo 730 00:26:44,604 --> 00:26:46,771 Paycom put out a statement as well . I 731 00:26:46,771 --> 00:26:48,716 direct you to that . Um We've seen 732 00:26:48,716 --> 00:26:50,938 these types of launches before . Um you 733 00:26:50,938 --> 00:26:53,109 know , they're destabilizing . Uh We 734 00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:55,286 always coordinate with our partners in 735 00:26:55,286 --> 00:26:57,119 the region . Um But I don't have 736 00:26:57,119 --> 00:26:58,952 anything more for you beyond the 737 00:26:58,952 --> 00:26:58,949 statement that was put out this weekend . 738 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:03,089 Uh Yeah . Uh Thank you , sir . You have 739 00:27:03,099 --> 00:27:05,589 a comment on recent attacks on the US 740 00:27:05,599 --> 00:27:08,449 branch restaurants in Baghdad Iraq , uh 741 00:27:08,500 --> 00:27:11,839 such as KFC , like since last 742 00:27:11,849 --> 00:27:14,810 Saturday , two KFC branches and one GEE 743 00:27:15,319 --> 00:27:19,030 House uh branch were attacked . I'm 744 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:21,207 sorry , I just don't have anything for 745 00:27:21,207 --> 00:27:23,400 you on that . Ok ? And secondly , the 746 00:27:23,410 --> 00:27:25,354 leader of the National Nationalist 747 00:27:25,354 --> 00:27:27,449 Movement party in Turkey who is 748 00:27:27,459 --> 00:27:29,626 alliance to the ruling party of Turkey 749 00:27:29,839 --> 00:27:32,099 has said Turkey and Syria should 750 00:27:32,109 --> 00:27:33,942 conduct a bilateral operation in 751 00:27:33,942 --> 00:27:36,869 northeast Syria where US forces with it 752 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:40,569 is uh the the uh partners are 753 00:27:40,579 --> 00:27:42,635 fighting against ISIS . How does the 754 00:27:42,635 --> 00:27:45,000 Pentagon look at a Turkish operation in 755 00:27:45,010 --> 00:27:47,177 the region ? I'm sorry , can you , I , 756 00:27:47,177 --> 00:27:49,232 I'm so sorry . Could you just repeat 757 00:27:49,232 --> 00:27:51,121 your question ? The leader of the 758 00:27:51,121 --> 00:27:53,066 nationalist movement , nationalist 759 00:27:53,066 --> 00:27:55,520 party in Turkey who alliance to ruling 760 00:27:55,530 --> 00:27:58,699 party of Turkey a party ? He has said 761 00:27:58,709 --> 00:28:01,229 that Turkey and Syria should conduct a 762 00:28:01,239 --> 00:28:04,000 bilateral operation uh into uh 763 00:28:04,010 --> 00:28:07,219 northeast of Syria where 764 00:28:07,229 --> 00:28:10,479 the US forces with its alliance 765 00:28:10,969 --> 00:28:13,550 or partners SDF are fighting against 766 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,000 ISIS . Got it . So I don't have 767 00:28:16,010 --> 00:28:18,121 anything for you on that . What I can 768 00:28:18,121 --> 00:28:20,177 tell you is our partnership with the 769 00:28:20,177 --> 00:28:22,399 SDF is to ensure the enduring defeat of 770 00:28:22,399 --> 00:28:24,510 ISIS . Uh we partner with them as you 771 00:28:24,510 --> 00:28:26,510 know , on on various missions to um 772 00:28:26,510 --> 00:28:29,319 ensure that ISIS remains um or cannot 773 00:28:29,329 --> 00:28:32,199 Resurge uh in a way that it was , you 774 00:28:32,209 --> 00:28:34,431 know , many years ago . Um , but I just 775 00:28:34,431 --> 00:28:36,542 don't have more to offer a comment on 776 00:28:36,542 --> 00:28:38,709 that . I'm just gonna go to the phones 777 00:28:38,709 --> 00:28:38,209 and then happy to come back in the room . 778 00:28:38,349 --> 00:28:41,380 Uh , Missy Ryan Washington Post . Hi , 779 00:28:41,390 --> 00:28:43,612 Sabrina . Thank you . Just to follow up 780 00:28:43,612 --> 00:28:45,946 on the earlier questions about the , um , 781 00:28:45,946 --> 00:28:48,112 strike over the weekend . So you , you 782 00:28:48,112 --> 00:28:50,334 said earlier that , that , that you all 783 00:28:50,334 --> 00:28:52,750 don't know if it's , um , um , a US 784 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,479 provided munition or munitions that 785 00:28:55,489 --> 00:28:57,822 were dropped as part of that . But that , 786 00:28:57,822 --> 00:28:59,322 you know , there's lots of 787 00:28:59,322 --> 00:29:01,600 conversations that have been happening . 788 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:03,767 Can you just tell us has and also that 789 00:29:03,767 --> 00:29:06,160 the um upper the investigation is 790 00:29:06,170 --> 00:29:08,760 ongoing , but has the , has the 791 00:29:08,770 --> 00:29:11,250 department asked for that information ? 792 00:29:11,260 --> 00:29:13,149 I would assume that that would be 793 00:29:13,149 --> 00:29:15,204 something that you all would want to 794 00:29:15,204 --> 00:29:17,739 know ? And do you have any um 795 00:29:17,750 --> 00:29:20,489 independent information about whether 796 00:29:20,500 --> 00:29:22,800 or not it's accurate ? The Israeli 797 00:29:22,810 --> 00:29:25,209 claim that what appears to have 798 00:29:25,219 --> 00:29:28,839 occurred or what occurred was uh the , 799 00:29:28,849 --> 00:29:31,016 you know , ignition of a weapons cache 800 00:29:31,016 --> 00:29:33,127 or some sort of secondary explosion ? 801 00:29:33,127 --> 00:29:35,182 Thanks . See . Yeah , I've seen what 802 00:29:35,182 --> 00:29:37,293 they initially put out . I think that 803 00:29:37,293 --> 00:29:39,460 was in their preliminary findings that 804 00:29:39,460 --> 00:29:41,516 you're mentioning again , the on the 805 00:29:41,516 --> 00:29:43,627 investigation is ongoing . So I'm not 806 00:29:43,627 --> 00:29:45,627 trying to get ahead of that . Uh We 807 00:29:45,627 --> 00:29:47,460 expect the Israelis to conduct a 808 00:29:47,460 --> 00:29:49,738 thorough and independent investigation , 809 00:29:49,738 --> 00:29:52,071 but I'd like to wait till we get to the , 810 00:29:52,071 --> 00:29:54,293 the result of that investigation before 811 00:29:54,293 --> 00:29:56,349 we make any judgments . Um I'm gonna 812 00:29:56,349 --> 00:29:58,460 take one more friend on the phone and 813 00:29:58,460 --> 00:29:57,849 then have to come back in the room . Uh 814 00:29:57,859 --> 00:30:01,400 Sam Fowler uh Tokyo broadcast . My 815 00:30:01,410 --> 00:30:03,354 question is answered . Thank you , 816 00:30:03,354 --> 00:30:06,099 Joseph . Just a follow up . You said 817 00:30:06,109 --> 00:30:09,099 that us troops are still on those , on 818 00:30:09,130 --> 00:30:11,297 those vessels . Do you have an idea of 819 00:30:11,297 --> 00:30:13,519 how many I don't , I would refer you to 820 00:30:13,519 --> 00:30:15,463 send , to speak to that . You guys 821 00:30:15,463 --> 00:30:17,630 can't take that . I would refer you to 822 00:30:17,630 --> 00:30:19,408 take this , the pier . I mean , 823 00:30:19,408 --> 00:30:21,630 everything that just happened with it , 824 00:30:21,630 --> 00:30:23,741 is it a result ? I it just happened , 825 00:30:23,741 --> 00:30:25,908 but is it a result of poor planning or 826 00:30:25,908 --> 00:30:27,908 poor quality of , of whatever , you 827 00:30:27,908 --> 00:30:30,130 know , materials we use ? Because a few 828 00:30:30,130 --> 00:30:32,241 weeks back , we asked in this room as 829 00:30:32,241 --> 00:30:34,352 pet . Um you know , how long can this 830 00:30:34,352 --> 00:30:36,519 period be used for ? Because there are 831 00:30:36,519 --> 00:30:38,741 presume high tides that come in usually 832 00:30:38,741 --> 00:30:40,852 towards the end of August , we're not 833 00:30:40,852 --> 00:30:42,963 even , you know , into June when this 834 00:30:42,963 --> 00:30:45,074 happened . So , I mean , what is it , 835 00:30:45,074 --> 00:30:44,079 what's , what's , you know , do you 836 00:30:44,089 --> 00:30:46,311 guys put a lot of money into this ? And 837 00:30:46,311 --> 00:30:48,367 then it didn't la it lasted for less 838 00:30:48,367 --> 00:30:51,140 than two weeks . Well , in those two 839 00:30:51,150 --> 00:30:54,030 weeks , what I would say is that over 840 00:30:54,060 --> 00:30:56,140 1000 metric tons of aid got to the 841 00:30:56,150 --> 00:30:58,039 people in Gaza . So I don't think 842 00:30:58,039 --> 00:31:00,500 that's a total loss . Um I think it's 843 00:31:00,510 --> 00:31:02,566 pretty important for the people that 844 00:31:02,566 --> 00:31:04,677 are suffering right now that are in a 845 00:31:04,677 --> 00:31:06,621 dire humanitarian situation to get 846 00:31:06,621 --> 00:31:08,954 whatever aid they can by whatever means . 847 00:31:08,954 --> 00:31:11,121 Um If you want to characterize it as a 848 00:31:11,121 --> 00:31:13,849 failure , I leave it to you . What I 849 00:31:13,859 --> 00:31:15,970 can tell you is that we don't control 850 00:31:15,970 --> 00:31:18,790 the weather . There was an unfortunate 851 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,510 uh unique pattern of events with high 852 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:23,849 seas and another storm that came in 853 00:31:24,020 --> 00:31:26,000 that caused the J lots to become 854 00:31:26,170 --> 00:31:29,130 inoperable during that time . You 855 00:31:29,140 --> 00:31:32,000 better believe that us central Command 856 00:31:32,010 --> 00:31:34,066 forces are going to do everything in 857 00:31:34,066 --> 00:31:36,177 their power to make sure that this is 858 00:31:36,177 --> 00:31:37,954 back and operational as soon as 859 00:31:37,954 --> 00:31:40,121 possible . This is a mission directive 860 00:31:40,121 --> 00:31:42,232 that was set up by the president . We 861 00:31:42,232 --> 00:31:44,469 take it very seriously . We're just as 862 00:31:44,479 --> 00:31:46,590 you are , we're seeing the reports on 863 00:31:46,590 --> 00:31:48,479 the ground of what people need uh 864 00:31:48,479 --> 00:31:50,520 whether it be life saving , food , 865 00:31:50,530 --> 00:31:53,339 water , medical needs . Um We want to 866 00:31:53,349 --> 00:31:55,989 do everything possible to help um and 867 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,056 it is our forces . It is our men and 868 00:31:58,056 --> 00:31:59,944 women who are running towards the 869 00:31:59,944 --> 00:32:01,944 problem and trying to do everything 870 00:32:01,944 --> 00:32:04,780 they can to find a solution . This is 871 00:32:04,790 --> 00:32:07,180 not going to be the solve for land 872 00:32:07,189 --> 00:32:09,780 routes . Um Airdrops are not the solve 873 00:32:09,790 --> 00:32:12,280 for land routes . Uh We need those land 874 00:32:12,290 --> 00:32:14,290 crossings to open . We need them to 875 00:32:14,290 --> 00:32:16,290 open every single day to allow more 876 00:32:16,290 --> 00:32:19,689 trucks in and um and and in through 877 00:32:19,699 --> 00:32:22,500 into Gaza . But II I have to push back 878 00:32:22,510 --> 00:32:24,540 on the fact that this is a failure 879 00:32:24,569 --> 00:32:27,229 because at the end of the day uh you 880 00:32:27,239 --> 00:32:30,410 have , you know , men and women out 881 00:32:30,420 --> 00:32:32,642 there separated from their families who 882 00:32:32,642 --> 00:32:35,390 are putting themselves first , um who 883 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:37,567 are putting others first to try and be 884 00:32:37,567 --> 00:32:39,511 part of a life saving humanitarian 885 00:32:39,511 --> 00:32:41,678 mission that has seen over 1000 metric 886 00:32:41,678 --> 00:32:43,900 tons of aid come in and I think that is 887 00:32:43,900 --> 00:32:46,380 commendable . Um So look , I can't tell 888 00:32:46,390 --> 00:32:48,660 you that this gets anchored back into 889 00:32:48,670 --> 00:32:50,670 the beach . And three weeks later , 890 00:32:50,670 --> 00:32:52,670 there's another storm . I , I can't 891 00:32:52,670 --> 00:32:55,003 predict the environment . But right now , 892 00:32:55,003 --> 00:32:57,226 uh during this time , as you said , you 893 00:32:57,226 --> 00:32:59,337 know , up in August , we we could see 894 00:32:59,337 --> 00:33:01,939 higher um sea swells right now , this 895 00:33:01,949 --> 00:33:04,171 is usually a time of relative calm . So 896 00:33:04,171 --> 00:33:07,040 hopefully when um we are able to re 897 00:33:07,140 --> 00:33:09,140 anchor the pier back in , you'll be 898 00:33:09,140 --> 00:33:11,084 able to see that aid flow off in a 899 00:33:11,084 --> 00:33:13,800 pretty uh steady stream . Uh OK , Louie 900 00:33:13,810 --> 00:33:15,977 and then I'll come to Idris and take a 901 00:33:15,977 --> 00:33:17,754 few more . Sure , I have a pure 902 00:33:17,754 --> 00:33:19,810 question . But first , I want to ask 903 00:33:19,810 --> 00:33:22,032 you about something you said earlier um 904 00:33:22,032 --> 00:33:24,254 when he talked about the imagery of the 905 00:33:24,254 --> 00:33:26,421 um airstrike over the weekend , um you 906 00:33:26,421 --> 00:33:28,588 said it was heartbreaking . You said , 907 00:33:28,588 --> 00:33:28,250 you said it was horrific , which I 908 00:33:28,260 --> 00:33:31,869 think he also said um later later . Um 909 00:33:31,890 --> 00:33:34,560 But you also said it needs to stop . Um 910 00:33:34,569 --> 00:33:36,736 What exactly are you referring to when 911 00:33:36,736 --> 00:33:38,680 you say it needs to stop ? Are you 912 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:41,000 talking about ? I mean , because 913 00:33:41,010 --> 00:33:43,177 obviously you , you're waiting for the 914 00:33:43,177 --> 00:33:45,288 results of this investigation to come 915 00:33:45,288 --> 00:33:47,510 through . But what exactly are you 916 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:49,520 referring to ? Are you referring to 917 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:51,631 intentionality ? Are you talking to , 918 00:33:51,631 --> 00:33:53,742 uh , intent , are you talking about , 919 00:33:53,742 --> 00:33:56,550 uh , targeted attacks that impact 920 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,170 civilian lives ? I think , and I , I 921 00:33:59,180 --> 00:34:01,347 think I had more to say after that but 922 00:34:01,347 --> 00:34:05,229 the , yeah , so what needs to , to stop 923 00:34:05,239 --> 00:34:07,072 is we need , we need our , those 924 00:34:07,072 --> 00:34:09,409 vulnerable civilians uh , to be 925 00:34:09,419 --> 00:34:12,300 protected . We need to see , um , you 926 00:34:12,310 --> 00:34:14,629 know , the the population that is 927 00:34:14,639 --> 00:34:16,861 concentrated with Rafa and other places 928 00:34:16,861 --> 00:34:19,489 in Gaza um to be better protected . And 929 00:34:19,500 --> 00:34:22,270 we want to see the ID F um incorporate 930 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:24,502 some of the lessons that we continue to 931 00:34:24,502 --> 00:34:27,030 impart on them . Um uh you know , 932 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:29,262 better solidified in their operations . 933 00:34:29,262 --> 00:34:31,429 So the interesting part is that a part 934 00:34:31,429 --> 00:34:33,318 of what the administration , this 935 00:34:33,318 --> 00:34:35,596 building in particular has been asking , 936 00:34:35,596 --> 00:34:37,707 uh the idea is that they've been more 937 00:34:37,707 --> 00:34:39,818 precise in their targeting . So which 938 00:34:39,820 --> 00:34:42,699 would I think is the definition that 939 00:34:42,709 --> 00:34:45,010 you are putting forward of what a 940 00:34:45,020 --> 00:34:48,010 limited operation is in Tarafa . And in 941 00:34:48,020 --> 00:34:50,131 this scenario , it appears that , you 942 00:34:50,131 --> 00:34:52,298 know , targeted strikes may have had a 943 00:34:52,298 --> 00:34:55,129 secondary effect somehow but yet the 944 00:34:55,139 --> 00:34:58,209 Israelis may be following that and yet 945 00:34:58,219 --> 00:35:00,275 it leads to , you know , a situation 946 00:35:00,275 --> 00:35:02,386 like this one . So I think some of my 947 00:35:02,386 --> 00:35:04,608 words are being extrapolated here , but 948 00:35:04,608 --> 00:35:06,830 when it comes to what happened over the 949 00:35:06,830 --> 00:35:08,775 weekend , the IDF is conducting an 950 00:35:08,775 --> 00:35:10,941 investigation . And as I've said , I'm 951 00:35:10,941 --> 00:35:10,840 going to let the ID F continue that 952 00:35:10,850 --> 00:35:13,639 investigation before commenting or 953 00:35:13,649 --> 00:35:15,816 making any further judgments on that . 954 00:35:16,260 --> 00:35:19,000 Uh Sure . My pure question is about um 955 00:35:19,830 --> 00:35:22,052 February uh excuse me , uh May 17th was 956 00:35:22,052 --> 00:35:24,209 the first day of operations . By the 957 00:35:24,219 --> 00:35:27,129 time we get to Ju June 5th , which may 958 00:35:27,139 --> 00:35:29,306 be the time frame you're talking about 959 00:35:29,306 --> 00:35:31,417 a week from now when repairs are gone 960 00:35:31,417 --> 00:35:33,528 in , we may have eaten up already the 961 00:35:33,528 --> 00:35:35,639 first month of operations in what was 962 00:35:35,639 --> 00:35:37,750 foreseen as a three month operation . 963 00:35:37,750 --> 00:35:41,040 So is it giving pause to uh the 964 00:35:41,050 --> 00:35:43,272 department that you may have to look at 965 00:35:43,272 --> 00:35:45,719 other alternatives via other s sea 966 00:35:45,729 --> 00:35:47,959 routes into Israel or elsewhere into 967 00:35:47,969 --> 00:35:50,810 Gaza to supplement all this aid that is 968 00:35:50,820 --> 00:35:53,042 currently being . I understand how it's 969 00:35:53,042 --> 00:35:55,320 all being accumulated on the Benavides . 970 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,487 But I mean , other than that , because 971 00:35:57,487 --> 00:35:59,653 otherwise now we're gonna be one month 972 00:35:59,653 --> 00:36:01,598 into this without full operational 973 00:36:01,598 --> 00:36:05,290 capability . So a lot there . Um As you 974 00:36:05,300 --> 00:36:07,356 might remember , even though there , 975 00:36:07,356 --> 00:36:09,860 there are folks uh that , that do give 976 00:36:09,870 --> 00:36:11,759 out timelines on how long certain 977 00:36:11,759 --> 00:36:13,926 things are supposed to operate . Uh We 978 00:36:13,926 --> 00:36:17,070 did not put a timeline on how long the 979 00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:19,136 um temporary peer could operate . We 980 00:36:19,136 --> 00:36:21,302 said that approximately in this window 981 00:36:21,302 --> 00:36:23,469 is when we have that time frame . Um 982 00:36:23,479 --> 00:36:25,590 But again , we didn't put an end date 983 00:36:25,590 --> 00:36:27,812 on this . So we're going to continue to 984 00:36:27,812 --> 00:36:30,035 operate this temporary pier for as long 985 00:36:30,035 --> 00:36:33,719 as we can um in terms of other routes 986 00:36:33,729 --> 00:36:35,785 or ways for the aid to get in . What 987 00:36:35,785 --> 00:36:38,219 you , what you're asking is uh because 988 00:36:38,229 --> 00:36:40,451 of this delay , like how will other aid 989 00:36:40,451 --> 00:36:42,673 get in ? And I think , you know , I , I 990 00:36:42,673 --> 00:36:44,785 sort of spoke to this but that's what 991 00:36:44,785 --> 00:36:46,840 USA ID is trying to figure out other 992 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:48,951 ways um for the aid that's already on 993 00:36:48,951 --> 00:36:50,951 Cyprus . If it land routes or other 994 00:36:50,951 --> 00:36:53,062 ways for it to get in , we're working 995 00:36:53,062 --> 00:36:54,951 through that . Um And you have to 996 00:36:54,951 --> 00:36:54,699 remember it's not just us aid , it's 997 00:36:54,709 --> 00:36:57,300 other NGO S other partners . Um Other 998 00:36:57,310 --> 00:36:59,532 countries who are invested in sending U 999 00:36:59,532 --> 00:37:02,350 uh in sending aid to Cyprus . Um Some 1000 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:04,649 of that aid will be unloaded onto some 1001 00:37:04,659 --> 00:37:07,060 of our vessels . So it's prepositioned . 1002 00:37:07,070 --> 00:37:10,159 And so when the temporary pier is re 1003 00:37:10,250 --> 00:37:12,750 anchored back onto the , onto the shore , 1004 00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:16,679 um we're pretty much ready to , to roll 1005 00:37:16,699 --> 00:37:18,421 off right away . Um But that's 1006 00:37:18,421 --> 00:37:20,532 something that USA is working through 1007 00:37:20,532 --> 00:37:22,477 with other partners and I just , I 1008 00:37:22,477 --> 00:37:24,588 don't have a better sense for you and 1009 00:37:24,588 --> 00:37:23,409 then I'll go to the back and then 1010 00:37:25,399 --> 00:37:28,050 drifted away earlier today . Did that 1011 00:37:28,060 --> 00:37:30,338 end up off the coast of Gaza or Israel ? 1012 00:37:30,338 --> 00:37:32,504 I believe it was off the coast of Gaza 1013 00:37:32,504 --> 00:37:34,616 and it was recovered . And did anyone 1014 00:37:34,616 --> 00:37:36,889 have to come off the , how did you 1015 00:37:36,899 --> 00:37:39,010 remove it without getting onshore ? I 1016 00:37:39,010 --> 00:37:41,232 guess it didn't , I believe it didn't , 1017 00:37:41,232 --> 00:37:43,288 it was still in the water . So I was 1018 00:37:43,288 --> 00:37:45,419 able to be not to my knowledge in the 1019 00:37:45,459 --> 00:37:48,719 back after what's happened on the 1020 00:37:48,729 --> 00:37:51,909 weekend , Rafah , so many reports we 1021 00:37:51,919 --> 00:37:54,030 heard and that they are talking about 1022 00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:56,719 the US red line in Rafah . So my 1023 00:37:56,729 --> 00:37:58,896 question is , did the Secretary Austin 1024 00:37:58,896 --> 00:38:01,850 outline uh what that the red line is 1025 00:38:01,860 --> 00:38:03,820 during his calls with the Israeli 1026 00:38:03,830 --> 00:38:06,669 counterparts or any dod officials with 1027 00:38:06,679 --> 00:38:08,820 the Israeli officials ? And did they 1028 00:38:08,830 --> 00:38:12,379 specify where or what the red line is ? 1029 00:38:12,830 --> 00:38:16,199 Yeah , I , I don't have anything to , 1030 00:38:16,209 --> 00:38:18,590 to comment on lines . What I can tell 1031 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:20,656 you is we've been very clear when it 1032 00:38:20,656 --> 00:38:22,878 comes to operations within Rafa . Um We 1033 00:38:22,878 --> 00:38:25,340 do not support or we've voiced our 1034 00:38:25,350 --> 00:38:27,072 concerns with a major military 1035 00:38:27,072 --> 00:38:29,128 operation within Rafa right now , as 1036 00:38:29,128 --> 00:38:32,120 I've said , uh from here our assessment 1037 00:38:32,129 --> 00:38:34,351 right now . Is it still limited ? Yes , 1038 00:38:34,351 --> 00:38:36,629 they are maneuvering within Rafa . Yes , 1039 00:38:36,629 --> 00:38:38,462 they are continuing to make some 1040 00:38:38,462 --> 00:38:40,351 headway further in . But we still 1041 00:38:40,351 --> 00:38:42,629 believe it's limited in scale . Uh Yes . 1042 00:38:42,629 --> 00:38:44,796 And then to Mike and then Tara for the 1043 00:38:44,796 --> 00:38:46,962 Italian television . I have a question 1044 00:38:46,962 --> 00:38:49,949 about what , um Stenberg , the 1045 00:38:49,959 --> 00:38:53,169 Secretary General said , um um I 1046 00:38:53,179 --> 00:38:56,860 believe yesterday about giving weapons 1047 00:38:56,870 --> 00:38:59,800 to Ukraine . Let's say each state can 1048 00:38:59,810 --> 00:39:02,389 do what they want if they want their 1049 00:39:02,399 --> 00:39:04,399 weapons to be used towards Russia . 1050 00:39:04,479 --> 00:39:07,429 That's fine . And that brought a lot of 1051 00:39:07,439 --> 00:39:10,280 discussion um in Europe because it can 1052 00:39:10,290 --> 00:39:14,090 bring the war if France Macron 1053 00:39:14,100 --> 00:39:17,370 decide to go for it as an example , 1054 00:39:17,379 --> 00:39:19,546 what is the position of the Pentagon , 1055 00:39:19,546 --> 00:39:21,379 please ? And then I have another 1056 00:39:21,379 --> 00:39:23,490 question . Sure , our position hasn't 1057 00:39:23,490 --> 00:39:25,657 changed . We believe that in order for 1058 00:39:25,657 --> 00:39:27,379 we believe that Ukraine can be 1059 00:39:27,379 --> 00:39:29,929 successful in its goals by continuing 1060 00:39:29,939 --> 00:39:31,995 to take back its sovereign territory 1061 00:39:31,995 --> 00:39:35,340 and using us provided weapons 1062 00:39:35,570 --> 00:39:39,030 to do that . So , but should the , 1063 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,629 should the , let's say single state 1064 00:39:42,639 --> 00:39:45,389 decide how to use their own weapons ? I 1065 00:39:45,399 --> 00:39:47,621 can't speak for other countries . I can 1066 00:39:47,621 --> 00:39:50,310 only speak for us . Um We've given them 1067 00:39:50,570 --> 00:39:52,500 uh many different capabilities , 1068 00:39:52,510 --> 00:39:55,899 artillery , uh long range air defenses 1069 00:39:55,919 --> 00:39:58,899 or air defenses . Um Again , our 1070 00:39:58,909 --> 00:40:01,131 position hasn't changed in terms of how 1071 00:40:01,131 --> 00:40:03,489 we believe the Ukrainians can be 1072 00:40:03,500 --> 00:40:05,722 success successful on the battlefield . 1073 00:40:05,722 --> 00:40:07,944 Um But I leave it to other countries to 1074 00:40:07,944 --> 00:40:10,000 speak to their own weapons that they 1075 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:12,222 provide . I'm gonna go to my question . 1076 00:40:12,222 --> 00:40:14,389 It's about uh thank you Sabrina . It's 1077 00:40:14,389 --> 00:40:17,100 um about Israel . So we also in Italy , 1078 00:40:17,110 --> 00:40:20,000 we all support Israel , of course . But 1079 00:40:20,010 --> 00:40:22,949 um we see like a lack of strategy . So 1080 00:40:22,959 --> 00:40:25,419 some European countries are like taking 1081 00:40:25,429 --> 00:40:27,651 different positions . So we don't wanna 1082 00:40:27,651 --> 00:40:30,350 talk about red lines , but everyone is 1083 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:32,471 looking , are looking , is looking to 1084 00:40:32,471 --> 00:40:35,439 the US as leadership . So what are the 1085 00:40:35,449 --> 00:40:38,669 boundaries that should be set for Gaza ? 1086 00:40:38,679 --> 00:40:41,409 I mean , on Hamas and on Israel to 1087 00:40:41,419 --> 00:40:44,679 avoid further loss of lives ? I think 1088 00:40:44,689 --> 00:40:46,800 we've been pretty clear when it comes 1089 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:49,320 to um in our conversations with the 1090 00:40:49,330 --> 00:40:51,552 Israelis and how the ID F is conducting 1091 00:40:51,552 --> 00:40:53,774 operations . Uh I'm not going to repeat 1092 00:40:53,774 --> 00:40:55,886 everything that I've said from here , 1093 00:40:55,886 --> 00:40:58,060 but um we've been very public and very 1094 00:40:58,070 --> 00:41:00,399 clear about what we expect in Rafah , 1095 00:41:00,459 --> 00:41:02,689 we want to see a credible plan from 1096 00:41:02,699 --> 00:41:04,977 them that takes civilians into account . 1097 00:41:05,090 --> 00:41:08,270 Um Again , we are continuing to have 1098 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:10,502 these conversations with the Israelis . 1099 00:41:10,502 --> 00:41:12,391 Uh We believe more can be done to 1100 00:41:12,391 --> 00:41:15,219 protect the lives of Palestinians that 1101 00:41:15,229 --> 00:41:17,340 are , that are on the ground and that 1102 00:41:17,340 --> 00:41:19,419 are moving . Um , also out of places 1103 00:41:19,429 --> 00:41:23,120 like Rafa into , um , you know , other 1104 00:41:23,129 --> 00:41:25,260 areas . Uh I'm not gonna repeat 1105 00:41:25,270 --> 00:41:27,603 everything that I've said earlier , but , 1106 00:41:27,603 --> 00:41:29,437 you know , our conversations are 1107 00:41:29,437 --> 00:41:29,370 ongoing and pretty frank when we have 1108 00:41:29,379 --> 00:41:31,590 them . Yeah , Mike , what percent or 1109 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:33,600 what percentage of that 1000 metric 1110 00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:35,656 tons of aid that came to the pier is 1111 00:41:35,656 --> 00:41:37,989 actually gone to the Palestinian people . 1112 00:41:37,989 --> 00:41:40,270 And what percentage was taken by Hamas ? 1113 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:42,399 And is that always been like the 1114 00:41:42,409 --> 00:41:45,429 biggest problem in , in Gaza is not , 1115 00:41:45,439 --> 00:41:48,060 it's not so much getting aid there but 1116 00:41:48,070 --> 00:41:50,070 making sure once it's there that it 1117 00:41:50,070 --> 00:41:52,126 gets to the right people , there has 1118 00:41:52,126 --> 00:41:54,181 been an issue of self distribution . 1119 00:41:54,181 --> 00:41:56,403 But um in terms of aid getting into the 1120 00:41:56,403 --> 00:41:58,626 hands of Palestinians , I would let usa 1121 00:41:58,626 --> 00:42:01,080 ID speak to that and then we will wrap 1122 00:42:01,459 --> 00:42:04,179 uh just back to the pier . Is there any 1123 00:42:04,189 --> 00:42:05,856 chance that the pier won't be 1124 00:42:05,856 --> 00:42:08,022 reinstalled ? I mean , if the C States 1125 00:42:08,022 --> 00:42:10,078 remain rough , does it just become a 1126 00:42:10,078 --> 00:42:12,245 point of , you know , you could put it 1127 00:42:12,245 --> 00:42:14,820 back in but it'll fall apart again ? No . 1128 00:42:15,050 --> 00:42:18,550 Um we believe that there needs to be 1129 00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:22,100 uh repairs that need to be made um some 1130 00:42:22,110 --> 00:42:24,332 rebuilding to the pier . But at the end 1131 00:42:24,332 --> 00:42:26,166 of the day , uh when this became 1132 00:42:26,166 --> 00:42:28,590 operational , you saw a be begin to 1133 00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:30,767 flow off that pier within , I think 24 1134 00:42:30,767 --> 00:42:33,100 hours of when we were able to anchor it , 1135 00:42:33,100 --> 00:42:36,879 we believe that uh central command 1136 00:42:36,889 --> 00:42:39,000 personnel will be able to repair it . 1137 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:41,669 Uh a little bit more than a week , it 1138 00:42:41,679 --> 00:42:43,846 will probably take and then it will be 1139 00:42:43,846 --> 00:42:45,790 able to be re anchored back in . I 1140 00:42:45,790 --> 00:42:47,735 can't predict weather patterns . I 1141 00:42:47,735 --> 00:42:49,901 can't predict that there won't be high 1142 00:42:49,901 --> 00:42:52,068 seas again . Um , but from when it was 1143 00:42:52,068 --> 00:42:54,189 operational it was working . Um , and 1144 00:42:54,199 --> 00:42:56,143 we just had a sort of an , uh , an 1145 00:42:56,143 --> 00:42:58,032 unfortunate confluence of weather 1146 00:42:58,032 --> 00:43:00,088 storms that made it inoperable for a 1147 00:43:00,088 --> 00:43:02,032 bit . Um , and that did cause some 1148 00:43:02,032 --> 00:43:04,032 damage , but , you know , hopefully 1149 00:43:04,032 --> 00:43:06,143 just a little over a week , we should 1150 00:43:06,143 --> 00:43:08,088 be back up and running the pier is 1151 00:43:08,088 --> 00:43:09,977 going back in . Yes . All right , 1152 00:43:09,977 --> 00:43:12,143 thanks everyone . All right . Thanks , 1153 00:43:12,143 --> 00:43:12,510 everyone .