00:00 So far, retaliatory efforts from the U.S.
00:02 to these kinds of strikes clearly have not been working.
00:05 I mean, how concerning is that?
00:07 We've heard the administration over and over again
00:09 warn those who want to take advantage of this situation,
00:12 "Don't."
00:13 Those messages aren't landing clearly.
00:16 -Well, I'd say a couple things.
00:17 First, we have taken a number of steps,
00:20 including the movement of carriers,
00:21 air wings, and others, to keep this war
00:25 that is being waged now between Israel and Hamas in Gaza
00:29 from spilling out into a broader conflict,
00:32 a full-on regional conflagration,
00:34 which many people in this room were warning about
00:36 or concerned about when things happened --
00:39 when this all kicked off on October 7th.
00:42 Now, that doesn't mean that we are not seeing
00:44 very alarming behavior,
00:45 and there are two forms of it in particular
00:47 that we're focused on.
00:48 One is attacks by Iranian-enabled
00:51 and aligned Shia militia groups in Iraq and Syria
00:54 attacking our forces.
00:55 We are taking steps to protect our people
00:58 and to strike back against them.
00:59 In fact, just yesterday, CENTCOM announced a strike
01:03 that took out five militants
01:04 that were attempting to attack us with UAVs.
01:06 And second, we have made clear that the entire world
01:10 needs to step up together -- not the U.S. alone,
01:12 but all of us working together --
01:14 to deal with this emerging challenge
01:16 that the Houthis present, backed by Iran.
01:19 We are going to take appropriate action
01:22 in consultation with others,
01:23 and we will do so at a time and place of our choosing.
01:25 -I just wanted to bring this up.
01:26 -Oh, go ahead.
01:27 -Just one other question on this next phase
01:29 of fighting in Gaza.
01:30 The administration -- you have said that you feel
01:32 that the Israelis have been receptive to your message
01:34 to do more to try and limit civilian casualties.
01:37 You know, they are urging people to move
01:38 to supposedly safer areas.
01:40 We're seeing these maps and leaflets
01:42 that they are sending out.
01:43 But, you know, it's not clear that those warnings
01:45 are actually reaching people,
01:46 given the level of destruction, given communication issues.
01:50 You know, are you satisfied that this is enough?
01:52 Are the Israelis doing enough to make sure
01:55 that people get these messages to limit civilian casualties?
01:58 And can you really be more targeted in a situation
02:01 where you have so many people
02:02 now trying to squeeze into such a small area?
02:06 -Well, first, the pause ended on Friday.
02:08 It's Monday.
02:09 And over the course of the weekend,
02:10 we've seen basically 48 to 72 hours of activity.
02:14 So it's too soon for me to sit here and tell you
02:17 that I'm going to pass some comprehensive judgment.
02:19 What I'm going to do instead is what I did earlier today.
02:21 I'm going to talk to my Israeli counterparts
02:24 about what they are doing to target Hamas
02:26 and what they are doing to try to protect civilians.
02:28 Now, as you noted, they have actually taken
02:31 the quite unusual step for a modern military
02:34 and identified precisely the area
02:36 that they intend to have ground maneuver.
02:38 And they have asked the people in that area to move out.
02:41 Now, combined with that, we are working very hard
02:44 to ensure a sustained flow of humanitarian assistance
02:47 in through the Rafah border crossing
02:49 so that as people leave these areas,
02:52 there is food, water, medicine, shelter for them
02:55 to be able to avail themselves of.
02:58 But it's a dynamic situation.
03:00 And we will keep watching and keep measuring day by day
03:02 and stay in persistent contact with the Israelis
03:06 as we reinforce the basic point.
03:08 They have every right to go after the Hamas terrorists
03:12 who committed this brutal massacre on October 7th
03:15 and who continue to fire rockets just in the last hours
03:18 at civilian areas in Israel.
03:20 But they also have a responsibility
03:21 to try to protect civilians.
03:22 These are the kinds of steps that we
03:24 have asked them to undertake.
03:26 These are the conversations we're having day in, day out.
03:28 And I'll keep coming back to this podium
03:30 to report on those developments as we go.
03:32 But I'm not going to sit here on Monday
03:34 and pass some kind of comprehensive judgment.
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