A senior White House official recently stated that to his knowledge, the U.S. intelligence community did not have any prior knowledge of Hamas’ plan to target Israel ahead of a recent attack. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby stated that the U.S. did not have any advance warning about the Hamas attack. This statement comes in response to a report from The New York Times, which claims that Israeli officials had discovered Hamas’ plans for the attack more than a year prior, despite alleged dismissal of the plan by Israeli intelligence officials.
The surprise attack by Hamas occurred on October 7th, 2023, prompting Israel to swiftly declare war with the aim of eliminating Hamas. According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, thousands of people have been killed during Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza, though these numbers have not been independently verified.
Regarding the recent escalation of violence, the White House has accused Hamas of ending a truce, with National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby stating “It’s because of Hamas that this pause ended.” Israel has reportedly been urged to narrow the combat zone and specify safe areas for Palestinian civilians during Israeli military operations in southern Gaza. Kirby, however, declined to comment on specific conversations or plans between the White House and Israel regarding limits on civilian deaths.