John Kirby gives impassioned response to reporter’s question about “harsh” criticisms of WH comments on civilian deaths.

John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications for the White House’s National Security Council, had a strong response to a journalist criticizing President Biden’s statement that he does not believe Palestinian casualty figures and that he is “sure innocents have been killed [in Gaza], and it’s the price of waging a war."

Kirby, an admiral, said “being honest about the fact that there have been civilian casualties and that there likely will be more is being honest, because that's what war is. It's brutal. It's ugly. It's messy.”

He put the blame on Hamas, saying they were preventing civilians from leaving Gaza. He continued, “It doesn't mean we have to like it. And it doesn't mean that we're dismissing any one of those casualties. Each and every one is a tragedy in its own right, and each and every one we should try to prevent. And that is why we're in close contact with our Israeli counterparts, to do everything we can to help them minimize the risk to civilians that are in harm's way.”