On Tuesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) said that 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris was “very correct” to urge Israel to avoid a major military operation in Rafah, where the six hostages killed by Hamas were located and stated that why the hostages were killed may never be known.
Host Blake Burman said, “[T]here was obviously, Congressman, the devastating news over the weekend of the hostages that were discovered that were murdered by Hamas, one of them an American. If Kamala Harris ends up winning the election, she will be the commander-in-chief, she will oversee foreign policy all over the world, including the Middle East. Here’s what she said earlier this year as it related to Rafah, which is where those murdered hostages, including the American, were found.”
He then played a clip of Harris saying, “We have been clear, in multiple conversations, and in every way, that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake. Let me tell you something, I have studied the maps, there’s nowhere for those folks to go.”
Burman then asked, “She said going into Rafah would be a huge — major mistake. I wonder why you trust her to be the next commander-in-chief.”
Garamendi responded, “Well, she’s also very correct on this issue. The military action in Rafah resulted in many, many Palestinians dying. And what effect that may have had on the six hostages, we may never know, but clearly, it was a heavily contested military area. And those — not only the civilian Palestinians, certainly, a certain number of Hamas fighters, as well as, unfortunately, these six hostages, have been killed in that area. What she is talking about here is to carry — for Israel — carrying out its right to defend itself, but doing it a way that is done in such a way as to reduce civilian harm wherever it is. Those hostages, we don’t know the details. It may be some time and maybe we’ll never know the details, other than we know that they were apparent[ly] — they were shot, probably executed. How and why to be determined. The bottom line of this is, and you see this in Israel today, the Israelis are in the street, really demanding a ceasefire in which the hostages can be returned. It’s complex, it’s a very dangerous situation for the hostages, and certainly for the Palestinians and the IDF. Hopefully, it’ll be carried out in a way [that’s] reducing casualties.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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