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State Department focuses on stopping violence and moving humanitarian aid in Gaza; declines to speculate on annexation
Summary
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the department's immediate priority is stopping violence and getting humanitarian supplies into Gaza, declined to conjecture about possible annexation, and said talk of annexation is a distraction from immediate efforts to halt bloodshed and secure aid.
Tammy Bruce said the department's primary goal regarding Gaza is to stop the violence and ensure humanitarian supplies reach civilians. "The main goal is right humanitarian supplies, the nature of the violence stopping, that is the sole focus of the nature of where we're at at this point," she told reporters.
When asked whether the administration supports annexation or permanent Israeli control of Gaza territory, Bruce declined to speculate and said public reporting and hypotheses were not a basis for commentary from the podium. She called talk of annexation "a distraction" from immediate efforts to address what she described as the humanitarian crisis and the violence that followed the Oct. 7 attacks.
Bruce repeatedly placed responsibility for the current state of violence on Hamas, saying its actions "put Israel and the world and the Gazan people in this position" and that international efforts should concentrate on stopping the carnage and getting hostages and humanitarian supplies moved safely.
On questions about aid deliveries and whether Israel had blocked crossings on particular days, Bruce declined to speak for the Israeli government and told reporters to seek clarification from Israeli authorities about operational decisions at crossings. She emphasized that the United States continues diplomatic work aimed at ending bloodshed and facilitating aid but did not announce specific new initiatives at the briefing.
