White House laments ‘heartbreaking’ mistaken killing of 3 hostages by IDF; Biden briefed on incident

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, December 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, December 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reacts to the news of the mistaken killing of three Israeli hostages by IDF troops in northern Gaza earlier today.

“It’s heartbreaking. It’s tragic,” Kirby says during a press briefing.

“I think the Israelis will certainly take a look at this, and I’m sure they will do the forensics and to try to figure out how this happened. That’s certainly the way we would approach a situation like this,” he says.

He declines a request to pass judgement on the incident.

“We are mourning with the families who are getting the worst possible news a family can get, and I think we need to keep them foremost in mind,” Kirby says, adding that US President Joe Biden has been briefed by his national security team on the incident.

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