ICYMI: Senior Administration Officials Reiterate Unequivocal Support For Israel Against Terrorism

Over the last several days, President Biden has led intensive diplomatic engagements in coordination with Prime Minister Netanyahu and our allies and partners to support the people of Israel in response to the brutal terrorist attacks by Hamas. Through dozens of meetings with senior national security officials and international partners, President Biden marshaled significant additional resources to support Israel's defenses as Israel defends its country and people — as well as the many American citizens living, working, and traveling in Israel.

This weekend, senior administration officials have appeared on broadcast to reaffirm the United States' unequivocal condemnation of the horrific terrorist attacks in Israel and demonstrated the President's leadership. 

See clips below:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on CBS Face the Nation – 10/8

BLINKEN: The only things we've said to Israel is: "We're here, we've got your back, we want to make sure you have the support you need, we want to make sure you have the assistance you need." At the same time I was on the phone yesterday - and many others were on the phone - with counterparts from Egypt, from Saudi Arabia, from Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Lebanon, and many European countries as well, to make sure that, first of all, people have heard what the President said about others in other places not taking advantage of the situation. And to use the influence that they have with different groups to make sure that they don't do that. Precisely so that we don't have a broadening of this conflict to other places.

Sec. Blinken on Meet the Press - 10/8

BLINKEN: Right now, the entire focus is on supporting Israel. Making sure it has what it needs. As President Biden pledged to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when they spoke yesterday – Israel has what it needs to deal with this attack from Hamas, to make sure that it has control over its own territory and that it takes the necessary steps so that there's accountability and to try to ensure to the best of its ability that this doesn't happen again. We've been on the phones constantly since early yesterday morning. The President, myself, everyone throughout our government working around the world both to build up that support and to get countries to use the influence they may have with Hamas to get it to cease-and-desist.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Hearst – 10/9

BLINKEN: As of now, not a single dollar has been spent from that account. And again, the account is closely regulated by the US Treasury Department.

National Security Council, Coordinator for Strategic Communications, Admiral John Kirby on MSNBC – 10/9

TUR: …What role is the international community going to play in trying to get to a place of peace, and what pressure will they put on both the Israelis and the Palestinians, Hamas, to come to a peaceful end to this. What is the United States doing? 

KIRBY: Well, we're obviously staying latched up with Israeli officials as you might expect over the last 36 hours. At all different levels of the administration, we're making sure that Israel has the security assistance it needs to continue to defend itself. And we are making sure the Israeli people know that we stand solidly behind their right, again, to live in safety and security. We are also very very closely coordinating with Israeli officials about the status of American citizens which sadly we know, a few have been killed. We also know there are many more that are unaccounted for. We don't know where they are, we don't know what condition they're in, and nothing is more important to us than their safety and security. So, we're going to stay latched up with Israeli officials on that as well. 

Admiral John Kirby on Scripps – 10/9

KIRBY: We know that there are many that are unaccounted for. We don't know what that means and we have to accept the very real possibility that some Americans are being held hostage by Hamas in addition to many other Israeli citizens that are being held hostage.

Admiral John Kirby on Nexstar – 10/9

KIRBY: We also have to accept the possibility that some of those Americans that are unaccounted for could be held hostage by Hamas.

ANCHOR:  Monday, National Security Spokesman, John Kirby said President Biden remains in close contact with leaders in Israel and is speaking with other ally nations Monday.

KIRBY: We're working literally working on this by the hour trying to get as much information as we can.

Admiral John Kirby on Gray – 10/9

HOST: National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby made it clear that the U.S. stands by Israel - its most stalwart ally in the Middle East.

KIRBY: We have a long standing defense relationship with Israel where we provide a measure of security assistance material. Of course they have many of their own organic capabilities as well. That kind of support will continue as well. We will be in close touch with Israeli officials as they expend their munitions, whether it's artillery or missile interceptors. And we will do everything we can to replenish that that capability as fast as possible. As a matter of fact, there's already the first set of of military capabilities on their way to Israel if they're not already there. They may even already have arrived. So we'll this will be an iterative process and we'll stay in touch with them as they expand these munitions and make sure that that we're replenishing them as best we can.

Admiral John Kirby on Spectrum – 10/9

KIRBY: So we're very, very much in communication with them, making sure that they know we're obviously going to continue to support them and b, making sure that they have a way, a venue, to get to us what needs they have, what security systems they're looking at and what they're seeing on the ground.

Admiral John Kirby on CNN – 10/9

TAPPER: How does a White House make the decision as to how involved to get when a terrorist group kills Americans abroad and/or kidnaps Americans abroad. I understand it is not an easy decision necessarily, if it takes place abroad but if they are Americans. […]

KIRBY: I would tell you, broadly speaking, that we will do what we need to do to protect our national security interests there in the region. We will certainly do what we need to do to look after the safety and security of the person people. One of the reasons -- you saw yesterday we moved a carrier strike group into the Eastern Mediterranean as a measure of reassurance but also deterrence. So without speaking to specifics or hypotheticals, this president will do what he has to do to look after our national security interests and that is just the way it is going to be.

Admiral John Kirby on Univision – 10/9

Admiral John Kirby on Nuestra Tele Noticias – 10/9

Deputy National Security Adviser Jonathan Finer on ABC Good Morning America – 10/9

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's bring in John Finer. Thank you for joining us. We just heard many details what the United States has done so far. What more is President Biden prepared to do? 

FINER: Thanks for having me on, George. I suspect during the course of the coming days and weeks, frankly, because we expect the Israeli response to this horrific set of attacks to continue for quite sometime. We expect more U.S. steps to show support and solidarity for Israel will unfold. The President has been quite clear that Israel has, of course, every right to defend itself full stop, and that the United States will offer support at every level for Israel's defense. And, we are working through those details with our intelligence professionals, our military and our diplomats. We are in daily, in fact many times a day, contact with Israeli counterparts to see what they need and to offer it. 

Jonathan Finer on Fox News Sunday – 10/8

FINER: We are laser-focused. President Biden who has a 50-year record of solidarity, support and resolve for Israel is focused on making sure that they have everything they need to respond to this appalling attack, everything they need militarily, all of the diplomatic support and all the intelligence support.

Jonathan Finer on CBS This Morning – 10/9

FINER: So, I expect the situation of the hostages to take on increasing focus over the course of the coming days. And we, of course, will be laser focused on confirmation of any Americans among that group. And again, just given the sheer numbers involved, we do expect that there may well be Americans who have been caught up in the hostage taking, as well. And we are going to offer every kind of support to our Israeli friends and counterparts, including expertise on how to address these hostage situations. And I suspect we'll have more to say about that in the next day or two. 

Jonathan Finer on NPR's Morning Edition – 10/9

INSKEEP: Let's follow-up on what the president said. What support does Israel need from the United States?

FINER: Well, ever since this appalling set of attacks began, we have been in direct contact with the Israeli government - our diplomats, our intelligence officials and our military officials, as well as, obviously, the president speaking twice now with Prime Minister Netanyahu - first and foremost, to offer support and solidarity and to find out what specifically the United States can do to be most helpful. Two of those steps were announced yesterday by the secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin.

[…] And the President was quite clear about that in his remarks as well. The other step that the secretary of defense announced was the transfer of certain munitions - and we're not going to detail for operational reasons exactly which ones - from the United States to Israel, which the Israelis requested and said they need. And there will be more to come in terms of broader support.

State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller on CNN– 10/9

MATTINGLY: Matt, to that point, the idea of money is fungible here this frees up the ability for Iran in terms of its terror activities going forward. What's your response to that? 

MILLER: I think it's important to just establish what the actual facts are. There's been a lot of rhetoric floated about this. But the facts I think are pretty clear. First of all, the reason Iran had this $6 billion in the first place, and this is Iranian money, it's because the previous administration, the Trump administration allowed this money to be paid to Iran and placed into accounts where Iran could use that money for humanitarian purposes. We have allowed the money to move to a different account in the state of Qatar, from an account where it was held in South Korea, where Iran will continue to have access to that money, only for humanitarian purposes, with strict oversight from the United States Treasury Department. So, there is no ability for Iran to use this for anything other than humanitarian purposes. I will also say that Iran has funded terrorism for years and years and years. Decades, in fact. And we expect that they will continue to do so. Which is why, even as we allow them to have access to this humanitarian funding, which was already their money, and already in an account to where they could spend it but were just unable to do so for some kind of technical reasons, we have made clear that we will continue to hold them accountable. As I said, we have imposed 400 sanctions on Iran since the beginning of this administration for its range of activities, including sport for terrorist groups. And we will continue to take steps to hold Iran accountable going forward. 

Matthew Miller on MSNBC – 10/9

LEMIRE: Let's get you to weigh in on the complications right now on these shores that's complicating Washington's response to these terror attacks. There's, of course, no speaker of the house. Congress is working on a continuing resolution. There is no confirmed Ambassador to Israel, and we still have a blockade on military promotions from the pentagon.

MILLER: Look, honestly, we would like to see all of our ambassadors, including our ambassador to Israel confirmed as soon as possible. Of course, we want to see military promotion -- military officers to be allowed to go through Senate confirmation, receive their promotions. The administration has been quite clear about that. We've been troubled those have been so slow to move. I would say we were able to get Israel the immediate need it needs in the wake of the terrorist attack. There is no doubt as we go forward it's important that we have a partner in congress, a functioning congress in both houses of congress that can work with us to ensure that we can get Israel everything it needs in the coming days and weeks.