White House: Biden outlined Israel’s cease-fire offer accurately
President Joe Biden outlined Israel’s cease-fire proposal accurately in his Friday speech, the White House maintained Monday, pushing back on suggestions he miscommunicated the offer.
"The Israeli foreign minister himself acknowledged that this was the Israeli proposal ... and we're confident that it accurately reflects that proposal, a proposal that we worked with the Israelis on," White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters.
Kirby also argued that Biden "felt it was important" to reveal details from ongoing cease-fire negotiations for the first time, saying it was meant to apply pressure on Hamas, not to corner Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"We don't typically go through the details of these kinds of proposals," Kirby said. "But in this case, given where we are, given how much longer the hostages have now been held, given the fact that Hamas has reneged on several past occasions, on proposals that were sent to them, and given the fact that the Israelis really did work hard to come up with this proposal, and did so in good faith, the president felt it was important for the first time to publicly lay that out."
"This wasn't about jamming the prime minister or the war cabinet," Kirby added. "This was about laying bare for the public to see how well and how faithfully and how assertively the Israelis came up with a new proposal, how it shows how much they really want to get this done."
Kirby said Biden delivered the speech on Friday afternoon because the deal was presented to Hamas the night before.
"We're awaiting an official response by them now to take the deal," Kirby said. "This gives them what they've been looking for, which is a cease-fire and over time, and through the phases, the potential withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza."
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow