White House: “There is no intention to deploy U.S. troops in the Israel-Hamas conflict.”

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“The deployment of U.S. troops nearby is for the purpose of deterring other forces.”
“The detention of Americans has not yet been clearly confirmed.”
“There is no direct evidence for the theory behind Iran’s Hamas.”

The U.S. government does not plan to directly intervene by sending U.S. troops, even though more than 10 of its citizens have died in the armed conflict that began with a surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

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John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the White House National Security Council (NSC), was asked in an online briefing on the 9th (local time) whether the United States would likely participate in the war if it witnesses war crimes by Iran and Hezbollah, saying, “We will send our troops to that land.” “I have no intention of sending it to ,” he said.

The day before, the U.S. Department of Defense moved and deployed the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, known as the world’s largest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, near Israel and strengthened its fighter squadron. However, the White House explains that this is only to suppress the intervention of other forces, and that there are currently no plans to directly intervene in this battle.

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Coordinator Kirby said, “The reason President Joe Biden ordered our troops to be sent to nearby areas is to send a strong message to deter any country or organization from seeing this situation as an opportunity to take advantage.”

As a result of this incident, 11 Americans staying in Israel were confirmed dead, and many others are missing whose fate has not yet been confirmed. Israeli Minister of Strategy Ron Dermer also revealed the day before that there were Americans among the hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

However, the U.S. government believes that it has not yet been clearly confirmed whether an American has been kidnapped and detained by Hamas.

In response to a related question, Coordinator Kirby said, “In fact, it is not confirmed whether Hamas is holding (Americans) hostage. We are literally trying to receive information about missing Americans every hour, and it is not clear how many people are missing in total.” “I don’t understand,” he said.

Still, he said, “We have to accept the grim possibility that some may be like that.”

If it is confirmed that Americans are detained in the Gaza Strip, the United States is expected to become more actively involved in operations or negotiations to rescue the prisoners.

Meanwhile, regarding the suspicion that Iran was behind this incident, the government reiterated the existing government position, saying, “We have not seen any specific physical evidence that Iran directly participated in a series of attacks.”

The US Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported the previous day, citing high-ranking Hamas and Hezbollah officials, that Iranian security officials participated in a related meeting and approved a surprise attack. However, Coordinator Kirby responded that the matter was being investigated, saying, “We cannot confirm whether the report is correct.”

When asked how he felt about the sacrifice of innocent citizens in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s counterattack, he gave an answer that seemed to somewhat defend Israel.

“Israel has the right to defend itself,” Kirby said. “In some respects, Israel is acting aggressively in terms of the scale and scope of its attacks. “But we understand where it’s coming from.”

He continued, “Israel and we share many values ​​and interests as democratic countries. “One of those values ​​is respect for life, and Hamas has shown no such respect,” he said. When the reporter asked again that Gaza citizens, not Hamas, were being attacked, he responded, “No one wants innocent citizens to be killed or injured.”

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Source: Donga

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