CNN
—
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that a “lasting ceasefire” agreement between Israel and Hamas was “the only credible path forward” following an Israeli hostage rescue operation that Gaza officials say left at least 274 people dead.
“The best way to bring all the hostages home and protect Palestinian civilians is to end this war. And the best way to end this war is for Hamas to say ‘yes’ to an agreement announced by President Biden and accepted by Israel that lays out a lasting ceasefire and a road map for the return of all the hostages,” Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
“That’s what we’re aiming for, and that’s what we’re asking the world to call on Hamas to embrace that,” Sullivan added.
His comments came after Israeli forces rescued four hostages in a special operation on Saturday in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza that left 274 people dead and around 700 wounded, according to Gaza authorities.
CNN has no way to verify the casualty numbers reported by Palestinian authorities in the Gaza Strip. Medical records in the war-torn strip do not distinguish between killed civilians and combatants. The Israel Defense Forces has estimated that the operation caused “fewer than 100” casualties and disputes the figure.
“Innocent people were tragically killed in this operation. I don’t know the exact number, but it’s heartbreaking that innocent people were killed. It’s a tragedy,” Sullivan said Sunday.
“The president himself has said in recent days that Palestinians are going through hell in this conflict because Hamas is operating in a way that is engaging Palestinians in gunfights and taking hostages in the middle of civilian-populated areas,” he added.
Asked by Bash whether the US was satisfied with the way the operation was being carried out, Sullivan called for a diplomatic solution “that does not require a military operation to get all the hostages out.”
“Unfortunately, the conflict and military operations will continue as Israel seeks to rescue its people and, frankly, the American people. What we would like is a ceasefire where the hostages are released peacefully,” he said.
The Biden administration is pressing its Mideast allies to make specific threats against Hamas as part of an emergency campaign to pressure Hamas to accept Israel’s latest ceasefire and hostage offer to halt fighting in Gaza.
As Israel and Hamas have engaged in on-again, off-again negotiations for months, U.S. officials have publicly urged Hamas to accept previous ceasefire proposals that have been on the table, but no all-out pressure campaign featuring specific requests to individual countries has been undertaken so far as part of the Biden administration’s effort.
The United States has not accepted Hamas’ claims that other Israeli hostages held in Gaza were killed during the operation, but Sullivan said generally “there are always risks” and supported the ceasefire agreement that Biden has been lobbying for in recent days.
This story was updated Sunday with additional information.
CNN’s Sam Simpson contributed to this report.
