Hey everyone , happy Monday! I hope you all had a good rest after last night ' s Super Bowl . The President caught some of the game too and he wanted me to congratulate the Kansas City Chiefs on their third Super Bowl win in just five seasons . Also , shoutout to all the Swifties out there , the President can ' t wait to welcome them back to the White House to celebrate their latest victory . Now , without further ado , we have Admiral John Kirby here to talk about King Abdullah ' s visit and the latest on the Israeli hostages who were freed in Rafah . Take it away , Admiral!But let me make it clear: This crisis won ' t end until Hamas releases all the hostages they are holding . It ' s also important to have a humanitarian pause to provide relief to innocent people in Gaza who are not involved in the conflict . Our main goal is to achieve this . Now , moving on to Africa . Last Thursday , the United States , Zambia , and the Africa Finance Corporation organized the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Lobito Corridor Private Sector Investor Forum in Lusaka . It was the first forum held outside the US , bringing together business and government leaders . With over a billion dollars in financing , the corridor will connect western Angola to Tanzania and the Indian Ocean through bridges , digital connectivity , solar power , agribusiness , and a major rail investment . It ' s an exciting project and we ' ll keep you updated . Now , let ' s move on to questions . So , Israel has a responsibility to make sure they can protect themselves . And regarding the talks about the ceasefire hostage deal , a senior administration official mentioned yesterday that they were close to reaching an agreement , but there are still some differences that need to be resolved . I was hoping you could clarify what these differences are and which side of the conflict they are on . I understand that I can ' t go into the details of the negotiations , but we believe there has been progress towards a deal for a pause in the fighting and the release of all hostages . However , nothing is final until everything is agreed upon , and these discussions are still ongoing . It wouldn ' t be responsible for me to delve into the specifics . And finally , regarding the response to the killing of the three American servicemembers in Jordan , you ' ll have to wait and see what the response will be . I mean , it ' s not like this administration or the President just came up with this position . Was that what he said in their call yesterday? I ' m not gonna go into all the details , but we gave a pretty good summary of what they talked about . Go ahead , Michael . Thanks , Karine . John , over the weekend , there were satellite images showing some military movement by Venezuela along their border with Guyana . Any comment on that? We ' ve been keeping a close eye on it ourselves . From what we ' ve seen , it ' s been pretty minor and doesn ' t suggest any imminent hostilities . We ' re still pushing for a peaceful resolution . As for Haiti , the administration is having a meeting starting today to discuss the need for a multinational security force there . We want to protect the people of Haiti and this meeting is to set the groundwork for what that force could look like . It ' s just the beginning , and there will be more discussions to come . On the Jordanian meeting today , the King is hoping to gather support for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza . The President has been against a general ceasefire , but let ' s see what happens in the conversation . We ' ve consistently said we want the war to end as soon as possible . MS . JEAN - PIERRE: Go ahead . And we think one of the first things that ' s really important to do is to have a humanitarian pause - a longer break than we saw in November , maybe even a week , so that we can get all the hostages out and bring in more aid and help . Hopefully , this will lead to discussions that can bring us closer to ending the conflict . MR . KIRBY: I can ' t say right now . That ' s really a question for the Israeli Defense Forces . They know and understand our concerns . Q: And Prime Minister Netanyahu told ABC News , without evidence , that Israel ' s military has killed more Hamas fighters than civilians . What does the US think about that? Do you agree with what Netanyahu said? MR . KIRBY: He ' s confident that our Israeli counterparts understand our concerns . We ' ve told them privately and publicly . I can ' t speak for what the Israelis will do , but they have definitely heard our concerns about protecting the civilians . I can ' t say right now where the civilians would go . But we hope and expect that the Israelis will keep their safety in mind when planning future operations in Rafah . MR . KIRBY: We don ' t have an independent assessment of those numbers . Q: So , what might that look like , given the situation there? MR . KIRBY: Well , I have to be careful . I can ' t discuss things said during the campaign . But what I can tell you is that under President Biden , NATO is more important , stronger , and bigger than ever before . He has really prioritized our alliances and partnerships worldwide , and NATO is at the forefront when it comes to security in Europe . Q: And finally , what does the White House think about Trump saying he would encourage Russia to attack NATO Allies if they don ' t spend enough on defense? What message does that send to the world , especially US Allies? Q: Oh , thanks , Karine . Thanks , Admiral . So , President Biden told Prime Minister Netanyahu that they shouldn ' t do a ground invasion in Rafah without a plan to protect the civilians there . Is the President confident that Netanyahu got that message? And where are the civilians supposed to go? So much of Gaza ' s infrastructure has already been destroyed . And that ' s what the American president should be all about - reinforcing alliances and partnerships and sending a strong message , especially to NATO Allies , about how seriously we take our commitments . President Biden has emphasized numerous times that we will defend every inch of NATO territory if necessary . That ' s exactly what the Commander - in - Chief of the United States should be saying when it comes to NATO . MR . KIRBY: There may be closures at times based on security concerns , but we are not worried about our ability to communicate with President El - Sisi regarding the appropriate use of that gate . MR . KIRBY: I have no doubt that the Vice President will take the opportunity while in Munich to not only discuss how this administration is pursuing our national security interests in Europe and beyond , but also emphasize the importance we place on our network of alliances and partnerships . Trevor , there is no other nation in the world that has a network like the United States because our President , Vice President , and national security team have invested so much effort into revitalizing them . When we came into office , many allies and partners had doubts because they didn ' t feel valued or respected . We have proven that we are committed to leading on the world stage . Q: And about Rafah . Has the President ever threatened to withdraw military assistance from Israel if they proceed with a Rafah operation that disregards civilian casualties? Q: And just to follow up quickly on that . Vice President Harris will be in Munich with many of those European security leaders . Is part of her role there to reassure allies that deterrence is still a priority here? MR . KIRBY: Egypt has been a great partner when it comes to Rafah and allowing necessary individuals , including third - country nationals , to exit . They continue to fulfill that role . Q: But the border is closed , right? Average people can ' t move through there? Q: What is the view on the role Egypt should play there? Should they open their border to allow civilians to pass through? MS . JEAN - PIERRE: Go ahead , Trevor . A: I don ' t want to speculate on hypothetical situations . We ' ve been really clear with our Israeli counterparts , both privately and publicly , about what we expect regarding the treatment of innocent people near Rafah . We ' re gonna keep supporting Israel and their efforts against Hamas , but we want them to do it in a way that prioritizes the safety of civilians and infrastructure . As for a ceasefire , our desire for an extended pause remains the same . We want to bring the violence down , get aid to Gaza , and bring the hostages home . We won ' t speculate on policy changes or consequences , but our focus is on defending Israel , providing humanitarian assistance , and achieving these goals . KIRBY: We ' ve been talking a lot since the conflict began , you know , ever since the President went to Tel Aviv on October 17th , just a week or so after the attacks . We ' ve made it clear to Israel that we support them and want them to protect innocent lives . Another question , if I can . Why did the President let his campaign use TikTok despite the national security review? I don ' t have the answer to that , you ' ll have to ask the campaign . But it ' s still the President of the United States sending a message about TikTok ' s safety to Americans . I ' d still refer you to the campaign for that decision . Go ahead , Danny . Thanks for pressing me on the Rafah issue . You say you won ' t talk about possible halting military aid or consequences . What can the White House actually do to ensure Israel doesn ' t launch a military offensive in Rafah without taking necessary steps? Well , I don ' t think you ' re really sorry about pressing me , but I ' ll answer . It ' s not about leverage , it ' s about being consistent . We want Israel to defend itself and prevent another October 7th from happening , which Hamas obviously wants . And how they conduct their operations matters . We ' ve been consistent in discussing the "how" with Israel from the beginning . Throughout this conflict , we ' ve had the opportunity to shape their thinking and influence their operations . And that continues today . Thank you , John . You mentioned the release of two hostages , but there are reports that three hostages were killed along with 100 Palestinians , including women and children . Egypt also threatened to withdraw from the Camp David agreement if Israel invaded Rafah . So , how does the White House handle this complex situation? I tried to address that in my opening statement , Nadia . We really don ' t want to see any civilians killed , whether they ' re Israeli or Palestinian , during military operations . It ' s important that the number of innocent lives lost is zero . While we ' re happy that two hostages have been reunited with their families , we still grieve for any innocent lives lost during those operations . This situation highlights a couple of things . First , conducting military operations in a densely populated urban environment like Rafah is extremely challenging . Second , it emphasizes the responsibility the IDF has to be cautious and deliberate in their targeting . It ' s worth mentioning that Hamas leadership and fighters have moved to Rafah , putting the people there at even greater risk . So , there are legitimate military targets in Rafah that the Israelis will want to go after , but we urge them to be careful . As for the President ' s comments about civilian casualties , we recently issued a national security memorandum that outlines our expectations for how military assistance should be provided , including to Israel . As for the Indo - Pacific Strategy , we ' ve made a lot of progress . We started AUKUS to get Australia nuclear - powered submarines , elevated the Indo - Pacific Quad , and improved our relationships with Vietnam , Indonesia , and ASEAN . And , you know , the President had the leaders of Japan and South Korea over at Camp David and they really made some big progress in our relationships with each country . They also improved cooperation between the three of us . We ' ve also been adding more capabilities around the Korean Peninsula to keep a closer eye on Kim Jong Un and we ' ve been strengthening our alliances and partnerships in the region . As for the hostages , we don ' t have much specific information on where they are or who has them . Sadly , we have to consider the possibility that some of them may no longer be alive . We ' re constantly talking about it .

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