Kirby hits Palestinian reporter with the truth after she demands he condemn Israel for war crimes

John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, shut down a Gaza-born reporter on Wednesday for urging the Biden administration to condemn Israel.

At the White House press briefing, reporter Nadia Bilbassy — who was born and raised in Gaza and works for Al Arabiya, a news organization owned and controlled by the Saudi government — asked Kirby why the U.S. government does not publicly criticize Israel. She claimed matter-of-factly that Israel is "in violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention" and accused Kirby of being a mouthpiece for the Israeli government.

"With due respect, John, some people think that you repeat what the Israeli army spokesman [is] saying. It's exactly what they're saying — you're repeating here," Bilbassy said.

She then asked, "What's wrong with standing here and say when Israel do something wrong because you're the best friend, you have leverage on them, why not criticize them?"

But Kirby was not in the mood for the accusation, and he responded by calling out the presupposition on which Bilbassy built her question.

"Your question presupposes that we've made some determination that the law of armed conflict has been violated, and we're not at that point," Kirby said.

And when Bilbassy asked if the Biden administration disagrees with the United Nations claiming Israel is guilty of wrongdoing, Kirby threw down the gauntlet. Not only did he reaffirm Israel's right to defend itself, but he rebuked anyone who accuses Israel of committing a "genocide."

"Israel has a right and responsibility to defend itself, and we’re going to make sure they have the tools and capabilities to do that," Kirby said.

"We ought not forget what happened one month ago: 1,400 people slaughtered in their homes, at a music festival. And when Hamas decided to conduct operations, it was with the intent of killing people.

"You know, I heard this word 'genocide' tossed around. Hamas actually does have genocidal intentions against the people of Israel. They'd like to see it wiped off the map. They said so on purpose. So that's what's at stake here," Kirby fact-checked.

After Kirby finished responding, Bilbassy became defensive over Kirby mentioning what Hamas did on Oct. 7.

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