On this week’s “Fox News Sunday,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stated that US forces may be deployed on the ground to rescue hostages held by Hamas.
News anchor Shannon Bream said, “Senator Tom Cotton has said that special forces should be there. They have a duty to get the Americans out of there, especially those we believe are being held captive. Should the United States have troops on the ground for that?”
“There are no plans or intentions to deploy American forces on the ground to take part in the war between Israel and Hamas,” according to Kirby.
Bream asked, “But to get Americans back?”
“We are in fact actively trying to figure out precisely where they are,” Kirby said. “Really, Shannon, we have no idea how many there are. We only have a few. There may be more than we think, and they may be split up into different groups. They might be relocated.”
“We will be careful regarding what we say to the public about our plans to bring those hostages back home. At the moment, Secretary Blinken is traveling all around the area. I can tell you that this is very important to him. This is something that we are working on by the hour.”
As Bream asked, “Would you say for sure that there are no U.S. forces there that are on the ground?”
“When it comes to bringing our hostages home,” Kirby declared, “I will not rule anything in or out.”
“We are working on this practically by the hour,” he said. “Again, in order for you to come up with specific policy choices, you need a lot more relevant information than you have access to right now, and we are working on it.”
