White House: Biden trusts Burns in Israel-Hamas talks

The White House is standing by CIA Director Bill Burns and other U.S. negotiators participating in the Israel–Hamas ceasefire talks.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the prospect of a personnel change after Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) expressed concern about the negotiation’s progress as Israel starts military operations in Rafah, Gaza.

“Our assessment is that the two sides, what remains, the gap that remains could be closed,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday on Air Force One en route to Wisconsin. “That’s what we believe, so we’re going to support that.

“The president has confidence in his team to continue supporting that process,” she said.

Jean-Pierre earlier declined to comment on whether President Joe Biden is optimistic about the process after Hamas appeared to agree to a deal before Israel announced it had not been advised of it.

Instead, she repeated that the president’s priority was a deal that would lead to a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and “an environment where we can surge humanitarian aid.”

The press secretary also declined to comment on reports that Biden decided to pause a weapons shipment to Israel last week and whether that could be another “diplomatic” tool the administration could use to put pressure on Israel.

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“Our support for Israel continues to be ironclad,” she said. “We have been engaging in dialogue with Israel.”

The shipment reportedly included 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, according to Axios.