Advisor Jake Sullivan is here to give a middle east update. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Before i take your questions, i want to step back and make some comments on the latest development in the middle east. Theres been a lot more heat than light in the recent coverage and commentary about the war between israel and hamas. I want to take a moment today to get back to basics and lay out the administrations view. Here is how we see it. One, this is a war between the state of israel and the terrorist group hamas, Whose Mission is to annihilate israel and kill as many jews as they can. The war began on october 7 when hamas massacred 1200 people and took more than 200 hostages. There was a ceasefire in place on october 6. They broke it. The president has made clear the United States was to see hamas defeated and justice delivered. There can be no equivocation on that. Two, the Palestinian Civilians caught in the middle of this war are in hell. The death and trauma they have endured are unmanageable. Their pain and suffering are immense. No civilian should have to go through that. This is on the president s mind every day. Three. Israel has an unusual, even unprecedented burden in fighting this war because hamas uses hospitals and schools and other civilian facilities for military purposes and has built a vast network of military tunnels under civilian areas. That puts innocent civilians in the crossfire. It does not lessen israels responsibility to do all they can to protect innocent civilians. Four, we believe israel can and must do more to ensure the protection and wellbeing of innocent civilians. We do not believe that what is happening in gaza is a genocide. We have been firmly on record by deck rejecting that. Five, the United States will continue to lead International Efforts to search unitarian efforts throughout the gaza strip because innocent civilians should never go without food, water, medicine, shelter, sanitation, or other basic necessities. Active diplomacy by President Biden has made a considerable difference in getting more aid into gaza. Now we are redoubling that diplomacy to press the key actors including israel in egypt. I discussed this issue with my egyptian and israeli counterparts yesterday. Six, the United States absent a massive amount of military assistance to israel to defend itself against all threats including hamas, hezbollah, and iran and its other proxies. We are continuing to send military assistance and we will ensure that israel receives the full amount divided in the supplemental. We have paused this it meant of 2000 pound bombs because we do not believe they should be dropped in densely populated cities. We are talking to the Israeli Government about this. We still believe it would be a mistake to launch a Major Military operation into the heart of rafah that would put huge numbers of civilians at risk without a clear strategic gain. The president was clear he would not supply certain offensive weapons for such an operation were it to occur. It has not yet occurred. We are still working with israel on a better way to ensure the defeat of hamas everywhere in gaza including in rafah. This has been the subject of detailed conversation between our professionals and i discussed this again with my is really counterpart just yesterday. Seven, military pressure is necessary but not sufficient to fully defeat hamas. If israels military efforts are not accompanied by a political plan for the future of gaza and the Palestinian People, the terrorists will keep coming back and israel will remain under threat. We are seeing this happen in gaza city. So we are talking to israel about how to connect their military operations to a clear strategic endgame, about holistic integrated strategies to ensure the lasting defeat of hamas and a better alternative future for gaza and for the Palestinian People. Eight, israels longterm security depends on being integrated into the region, and enjoy normal relations with the herbst states including saudi arabia. The advantages of strong partnerships were on display recently when a coalition of countries help israel defend itself against iranian missiles and drones. We need to consider the tactical battlefield situation in gaza in light of the bigger strategic picture. We should not miss an historic opportunity to achieve the vision of a secure israel, flanked by strong regional partners, presenting a power forefront to deter aggression and uphold regional stability. We are pursuing this vision every day. Nine, we are urgently and relentlessly working for a ceasefire and hostage deal starting with the first phase and building to an enduring calm. As the president said this weekend, there could be a ceasefire tomorrow if hamas simply released women, wounded, and elderly hostages all innocence. Israel put a forward leaning proposal on the table for a ceasefire and hostage deal. The world should be calling on hamas come back to the table and accept a deal. The hostages include americans and citizens from around the world. The president is determined to bring them safe back to their loved ones. I met with the families of these american hostages again just this past friday. They know how hard the president is working on this. 10, iran and its proxies have tried to take advantage of the war in gaza to launch attacks on israel. Hezbollah is attacking every day. The threat posed by iran and its proxies to israel, to regional stability, and to american interests is clear. We are working with israel and other partners to protect against these threats and prevent escalation into an all out regional war. Through a calibrated combination of diplomacy, deterrence, force posture adjustments, and use of force when necessary to protect our people and to defend our interests and our allies. We will not let iran and its proxies succeed. These are President Bidens positions. They reflect his commitment to getting an outcome in gaza and across the broader middle east that protects israels future security and paves the way for a future of dignity and security for the Palestinian People as well. Rather than israel getting mired in a Counterinsurgency Campaign that never ends and ultimately saps israel strength and vitality. This is all consistent with President Bidens longstanding view that ultimately a two state solution is the only way to ensure a strong, secure Jewish Democratic state of israel, as well as a future of dignity, security, and prosperity for the Palestinian People. One last thing. No president has stood stronger with israel than joe biden. He was the first president ever to visit israel during wartime. It is protecting israel at the United Nations. He mobilized a coalition to directly defend israel against an unprecedented iranian attack. He led the bipartisan effort to pass the supplemental to ensure israels defense and military edge for years to come. His commitment to israel is ironclad. Ironclad doesnt mean you never disagree, it means you work through your agreements as only true friends can do. Thats exactly what weve done over the past seven months, what we will keep doing. With that, ill be happy to take your questions. A week ago, the administration sounded optimistic on the prospect of a ceasefire and hostage deal. Can you provide an update . I have been quoting George Mitchell of late, who negotiated peace between the warring parties in northern ireland. Senator mitchell said quite famously that negotiations are 1000 days of failure and one day of success. Right now, we are in the former days latter than the rat rather than the latterday. These negotiations have had their ups and downs, ins and outs, twists and turns. What i laid out in my opening comments remains the case. There could be a cease fire tomorrow if hamas would release the elderly, wounded. We believe israel has put a proposal on the table, hamas has put a counter proposal on the table. The world is calling for a ceasefire. Those who are doing so should come to hamas and say work until we get a deal. I cannot predict when or if that will happen. I can confirm that we are committed to achieving that outcome on behalf of the american hostages and all the hostages, getting to an enduring calm in gaza. What exactly the next step is, we will see. This is a dynamic situation that involves the diplomatic element as well as the military element including operations that israel has taken in rafah. We will have to see how things unfold. You said it came down to language. What does it come down to now . In the and, when you are talking about a phased agreement that has multiple elements related to sequencing of hostages coming out, movement of military capabilities, surging of humanitarian assistance, movement of civilians, all of these are quite detailed. Moving through those details is what will be necessary to get this across the finish line. We believe there is a framework both sides could sign up to. Its really about the specifics of that framework, like that out that is necessary. Language ends up being on a page but it is what reflects the implementation of those details. That is what we are working with , both with israel, and with qatar and egypt, who are in close touch with the representatives of hamas. We our intent and determined to get all the hostages home. We are intent and determined to pursue a ceasefire deal. I want to ask you about russia but first on this topic, in the readout, your call with israeli officials yesterday, said you would have this meeting again in person soon. Is your expectation, one, when is your expectation that meeting will happen, two, that there will not be a rafah offensive until that meeting takes place . I expect it will happen in a matter of days, not weeks. We have not announced it on the calendar but this is not logging the future. It is not just me meeting my counterpart, it is military intelligence and humanitarian professionals on both sides being a part of that conversation as well. What i expect as we will have an opportunity to talk about the best way to ensure hamas defeat everywhere including gaza in the context of that conversation, and that opportunity was still be available to us when we show up for that conversation. Zielinskis advisor today said these new russian government appointments including the defense minister show that moscow will try to rescale its war effort and its economy. Is that your assessment as well . It is an opaque system run by one man, vladimir putin. He may move around professionals into various roles, but at the end of the day, he seems bound and determined to you to need to inflict a brutal war of aggression on ukraine. We will take what comes, support ukraine alongside a coalition of countries, and see what happens. I dont have a specific comment on the nature of this changeup in their government. I have seen that speculation from the ukrainians. It is not unreasonable but i cannot draw any conclusions at this point. Does the u. S. Believe that sinwar or other top, leaders are hiding out in rafah . If not, why do Israeli Forces continued to push further into rafah, what reasons are they giving you . I have seen the public reporting on this both in Israeli Press and American Press citing intelligence officials citing he is actually not in rafah. I will not comment on intelligence operations from the podium. Im afraid i cannot go further in trying to answer your question. Its a reasonable question, if it were the case that he was not in rafah, but i cannot confirm one way or the other. Why do they continue to push forward in rafah . Do you get the sense that they are taking the u. S. Morning and threats seriously . They have taken the sustained conversation we have had with them about how to seek an interim defeat for hamas while minimizing civilian harm. I think they have been taking that seriously. Weve had multiple rounds of conversations, professional to professional, president to Prime Minister. We will continue those conversations, we been clear on where we stand. Weve also been clear that we are here to offer constructive ideas for how to proceed with this in a way that will ultimately achieve the objective. One of the points i made at the outset that i think bears repeating, any military operation, targeted operation, larger operation, the ground or in the air, has to be connected to a strategic endgame that answers the question what comes next . That is something that we are bearing in on with the Israeli Government, feel their need to be more attention on that piece of it, lest we end up in a circumstance where israel conducts a military operation, kills a bunch of hamas guys, also creates some harm to innocent civilians caught in the crossfire, and then terrorists come back. As we have seen them in other places. We want to avoid that outcome. We want the page to get turned from hamas terroristic reign over gaza and a Better Future for the Palestinian People, security for the state of israel. Previously, you have not wanted to talk about drawing redlines but israel is continuing to strike rafah, order the evacuation of large numbers of civilians. How will you assess when it has crossed over into that fullscale offensive from the Current Operations happening now . We are watching this closely as you are, consulting with the israelis, collecting our own assessment on what happened on the ground. Israeli Defense Forces have indicated to us that the operation they are currently pursuing our targeted, not the kind of massive military operation we have talked about. We will make our own judgment on that as we see things unfold. It will be based on a totality of factors, not a mathematical formula or mechanical determination, something that we will judge based on what we see. The president will then make his determinations. We have not seen that yet. You have said some of the strongers yet about palestinians protecting their innocent civilians, as well as assuring their security and aid. What can your department, National Security council, saidn the lead up i have not spoken with the folks at morehouse, would have to really what he said to them in their conversations. We are focused on the policy as it relates to the ongoing war and the situation in the middle east. I have not been engaged in or involved in the preparation for the president s commencement address. As there are people who are walking out on College Commencement addresses, people are turning their backs, wearing scarves that represent palestinians. Is this message important to get out for the upcoming commencement addresses that the president is delivering . The president called Prime Minister netanyahu the beginning of april, more than a month ago, to register his truck and turn about the need to get more humanitarian assistance in. He put out a strong Public Statement at that time. The premise of your question that i am now coming to speak about the issue of surging humanitarian assistance to protect civilians is not a premise, im afraid, i can accept. The president has been strong on this, secretary blinken has been strong on it, not just in what they say but the work that they are doing with egypt, United Nations, and frankly through our own activities, including air drops and the work to get this in place to search humanitarian assistance in by sea. When it comes to civilian harm and the question of trying to do Everything Possible to reduce the amount of civilian harm on the strip, this is something the president has spoken to quite actively over a sustained period of time as well, directly engaged with the israelis. There are people protesting the president s appearance at morehouse because of the palestinian issue. What do say to those people directly . I would say please read the remarks that i just gave to this room today. I think it tries to lay out i am not being flip. I am telling you, april. What i laid out here today encapsulates the president s position and something that is both simple and complex. It is simple because hamas is an evil terrorist organization that needs to be defeated, period. It is complex because doing that in the context of what is happening in the gaza strip is a conflict military operation, and frankly, the regional situation makes it more complex. People of good faith have very strong views of this issue. We will engage with people across the board of folks who have come to this with their own perspective, their own world we view. Ill be can tell them is how we see it, where do we stand. What ive tried to lay out for you, stepbystep, is where we stand on a set of issues that raise questions of policy of course but are also deeply human. They are deeply human for the hostage families. They are deeply human for those that lost their lives in a massacre on october 7, loved ones lost lives. It is deeply human for innocent people caught in the crossfire, struggling to get access to basic necessities. We will keep speaking to that as we go forward, follow what we believe is in the best interest, reflective of the values of this country. There is a New York Times analysis that shows russian missiles breaking through Ukrainian Air defenses in far greater numbers than the past couple of months. Interceptions down at the same time apparently Russian Forces gathering in the north. Is any of this the result of getting delays, arms to ukrainians, what do you think it is . Part of the fact is russia continuing to push the envelope when it comes to the brutality of its campaign. It has sought more targets across a wider range of ukraine, most of them civilian, frankly. Trying to destroy the ukrainian electricity grid with an even greater determination this year than last year. Part of it is about the need for us, the United States and our coalition of countries, to search more air defense in so that ukraine has it. Part of it is a sixmonth delay in getting assistance you ukraine. We have made no bones about that from this podium. We intend to move more. By week, i dont mean just the u. S. , but the whole coalition. The president , secretary alston myself, working to coordinate those deliveries. To put ukraine in a position where you can better defend against what russia is throwing at them, and what they are throwing at them is quite considerable. How quickly is that need for new packages of military assistance arriving on the battlefield in ukraine, is the u. S. Confident that they will arrive in time for ukraine to vent of advances in other regions . The same day the law took effect, two or three weeks ago, the president signed a billiondollar package. Some of that equipment is already on the battlefield. On friday he signed another package. Some of that equipment will get onto the battlefield this week. Some of it has a longer lead time in terms of our ability to ship it, organize, get in. I dont want to suggest that all billion dollars of equipment are on the battlefield. But what youll see is a steady flow week by week. It is not that we have to wait well into the future before stuff gets delivered. We will have another president ial Drawdown Authority package just in the coming days because we are trying to really accelerate the tempo of the deliveries, recognizing, as i said before, the delay put ukraine in a hole. We are trying to help them out as quickly as possible. Weekly, as fast as possible . How we do the drawdown is a little bit less of the central issue than what the size of it is, sequence of actual deliveries. I will not suggest there will be a draw done every week. I will suggest a level of intensity being exhibited right now in terms of moving stuff is at a 10 out of 10. I spoke this morning along with secretary austin, chairman brown, with our counterparts in the ukraine. We spoke for 90 minutes. It was a detailed conversation about the situation on the front , about the capabilities that they are most in need of, and a real triage effort to say, get us this stuff fast so that we can be in a position to effectively defend against the russian onslaught. At the highest levels in our government, we are engaged with the highest levels of theirs to ensure that we can do everything humanly possible, both ourselves and allies of surgical equipment, to the front lines. Secretary blinken said yesterday that israel could be holding the bag and insurgency. I wonder if is there any concern, are you concerned that israels ongoing prosecution of the war, using u. S. Weapons will help hamas cultivate a new generation of people who will be targeting u. S. Interests, attacking americans . We have painful experience in Counterinsurgency Campaigns, fighting terrorists in urban environments, populated areas. We know it is not as simple as executing a military operation and calling it a day. As i said in my opening comments, military operation has to be connected to a political plan the day after, so there is a clear alternative, governance, security, all the steps you need to take to finally and fully defeat a hardened, entrenched terrorist photo. Foe. Yes, one of the risks of engaging in any Insurgency Campaign is the ability of the terrorist group to attract more followers as time goes on. This is something we have talked to the israelis about. One of the key points weve been reinforcing is to step back just from a tactical military analysis of the situation, strategically ask how do we get to the common goal, the enduring defeat of hamas . That will require military pressure, yes. But more than military pressure, a political plan to get there. One of the Big Questions about rafah, why does the United States, the strongest ally of israel, biggest weapon supplier, seem to have so little clout with the netanyahu government . You said that they need a strategic endgame. They dont have one yet. Netanyahu says they are going to go ahead and rafah no matter what. What is the evidence that the United States still has clout with the netanyahu government, is it too early to tell . You can look at the pattern of engagement the United States has had, for example, she military assistance. Engaging israel on the issue of civilian protection and harm, they have made adjustments. With the strategic endgame, that is not about american influence, its about israels strategy, what israel chooses to do. Prime minister doesnt have to answer to us on that, he has to answer to the israeli people on that matter. He is ultimately having to deliver for them the longterm security and a clear answer to the question, how does hamas get defeated on an enduring basis, what comes after . Sometimes this whole issue gets put too much into the frame of the u. S. And israel, not enough into the frame of these are sovereign is really decision they are making in a democracy. Their leadership is choosing how to prosecute this more. They are going to make these decisions. We are a sovereign country, too, and as a good friend of israel, we will stand with them as they worked to defeat their determined enemy. But we will also offer our advice and make clear where we stand on these issues as well. That is the most we can do, the most you could ask of anyone. We do believe it has borne results. We hope it will have more results in the period ahead. Another question on secretary blinken, he said that even if israel were further into rafah, they would be thousands of hamas left. Why are they saying they have to go into rafah to defeat hamas . I will leave that to the Israeli Government. The point that we have made through them is that israel has gone through gaza city, and you have seen terrorists emerge from the rubble because, from our perspective, there is not sufficient integration of a military plane with a political plan. We have concerns about that, we have raised those concerns not with rancor, but you want to see a successful outcome to the war. We want to see hamas defeated, see its leaders, justice delivered to its leaders starting with sinwar. We will continue to talk to them about this. That question is best posed to the israelis who are formulating the military plan. What is the president s goal, review of those tariffs, do you expect any retaliation from china . I will not get ahead of the president on this. Ive seen all the reporting on this. It is no secret the president , this administration has been concerned about unfair practices by the prc and harm American Workers and businesses. The issue of overcapacity. The ways in which china has put in place a series of nonmarket, distorting practices in strategic sectors. He has said consistently, i will stand up and push back against that. That is the frame that he approaches this with. I believe the specifics to be announced in due course. I would say in short order. You talked about humanitarian aid as a way to influence israel and clout in the west, but in gaza it has been locked, barely any aid coming in. There are some in the west bank. How can you make sure that actually the u. S. Has that clout that you mentioned . Second, many arab states said through their allies, they will not take part in the day after planning of gaza in any shape or form. Netanyahu also says that he doesnt want the p. A. Or a two state solution. What is your vision to the day after, how can you push the israelis into some kind of plan of action . On the first question, in the past few days since israel took the rafah crossing, we have seen difficulty getting aid to either rafah or and this is something that we are working with with the Israeli Government and Egyptian Government and United Nations. In the meantime, israel has opened up another crossing in the north. It has moved flour through that crossing. We have managed to get some fuel down through the south despite the difficulties. This is an urgent and critical situation. We have to get those crossings open to get more aid in. That has been eight issue of the past three days since these military operations, something we are working through with all the relevant parties. It is a total outrage that there are people who are attacking and looting these convoys coming from jordan going to gaza to deliver humanitarian assistance. We are looking at the tools we have to respond to this. We are also raising our concerns at the highest level of the Israeli Government, something that we make no bones about. This is utterly on inseparable behavior. The day after we are having constructive conversations with arab states about it. What they do want to see is a political horizon. They want an answer to what is the longterm future look like for the Palestinian People . That is something we are talking about with them, with the Israeli Government, as well. To put a point on that last question, is israel restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into gaza or is it not . First, i would point you to the findings of the state Department Report that just came out over the weekend. We believe there were periods over the past week where there were restrictions that had to be worked through. At the time we put the report forward, we felt there was sufficient work being done by the Israeli Government with respect to the facilitation of humanitarian aid, that we did not make a judgment that anything had to be done in terms of u. S. Assistance. That continues to be our assistance today. [indiscernible] those are your words, not my words. Im not sure if that is the way you ask questions. Seven months into the war in gaza, how confident are you that the remaining hostages will come home, a, and, b, that many do you think are still alive . I cannot give you a clear number of how many are still alive because we dont have total fidelity on that unfortunately. Something that we watch every day. We know there are deceased hostages, we know there are living hostages. We know that with each passing day, the risk to those hostages goes up which only redouble our commitment to getting a cease fire in hostage deal possible. Unfortunately, im not in a position to give you fidelity on those numbers because nobody entirely has it. We have our assessment, some of that is driven by intelligence. But to look you in the eye and say we know how many are alive, nobody can do that for you. How would you describe the relationship right now between President Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu . I would describe it as how its been for the duration theyve known each other. It is straightforward, direct, a relationship where the two of them can each share their views and perspectives. That is how it will continue going forward. One more. Quick ukraine followup before i hit the middle east. Ukraines government is desperately asking for Aircraft Assets including patriot batteries. What is the plan, how would you get them to them . One of the things i do every day is talk to at least one ally if not multiple about getting more patriot batteries into ukraine. I think we recently had some good news from an ally about getting one in. We are working on more. That is just something that we will continue to try and procure. Beyond patriots, we are looking for other systems, as well, because we think there are a number of allies that have capabilities, ways that the United States could help them with their air defense needs as a backfill. Thats an ongoing conversation, a matter of utmost priority. One or two at a time, not dozens, not a bigger number . Dozens of patriot batteries i dont think is the right order of magnitude of what we are trying to get in. I will take you last. We are a package deal. Egypt said they would support south africas case to the icj against israel for genocide. How is that affecting negotiations, situation in general, what is washingtons message to cairo about the decision on their part . I cannot say it is helpful to the discussions to sort out the humanitarian assistance, access issues. But i do know that israel, egypt, the United States, United Nations are all figure out a way to move forward. You said at the start of this you dont believe what is happening in gaza [indiscernible] what criteria are you using . We are using the internationally accepted definition for the term. It is not just me standing at the podium. In the context of this International Court of justice case, the United States made a presentation backed up by legal analysis would invite you to read. Presented one in march about three criteria she uses studying international law. Israels intent to destroy religious groups. Serious bodily or mental harm on a group. Physical destruction in whole or in part with imposing measures meant to prevent birth within the group. Erasure of the palestinians. How can you say genocide is not being committed . As i told you, the best way for me to answer the question is for you to look at the laydown are you saying this isnt happening . I would like you to look at the United States are you saying this isnt happening . Do you mind if i finish answer your question before you interrupt . Are you saying she is a lawyer . The United States has laid down at the International Court of justice in writing its position on this issue. I would ask you row seat to democracy. The criminal trial former President Donald Trump resumed in manhattan with this