During Thursday’s State Department press briefing, Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott answered questions about aid in Gaza.
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00:00Do you also look through their social media files?
00:05I mean, is there some to look for anti-Semitism, for instance, for some of the people who came?
00:11Well, as a matter of general policy, we're unable to comment on specifics of that nature,
00:16and so I'm not going to do that from the podium here.
00:17Can I ask you a different—oh, I just have a totally different question before we get on to the Middle East.
00:22All right.
00:23I had a question on Cuba.
00:25The deputy foreign minister is saying that there's no Chinese spy base on the island,
00:31despite—and is dismissing some recent satellite images.
00:34I just wonder what your assessment is.
00:36We will not talk about intelligence matters from the podium, so at this point, nothing to further add on that.
00:41No comment.
00:41Yes.
00:42Thank you, Tommy.
00:43Going back to Gaza on the issue of the aid, of course.
00:47Now, you know, for all the months before the January 19 agreement, aid was going in.
00:55Even in the most intensive fighting that occurred over a period of more than a year, aid was still going in.
01:02What has happened since March 2nd until now that this allows aid to go in?
01:08Do we have, like, a timetable?
01:09And isn't it really ironic that the Palestinians, you know, have—demand a measure of basic human right, the right to eat, on the day, the 15th of May,
01:21which is, you know, the 77th anniversary of their catastrophe?
01:24We still have to talk and debate whether they have a right to eat or not.
01:28Well, what I can tell you what's happened is there has been this proposal to get aid into Gaza in a creative way that makes sure Hamas cannot steal it.
01:37That is what I can tell you has happened, and that the United States has endorsed that effort to get aid in there.
01:42So that is what has happened.
01:43And what I can also tell you what happened is on October 7th, Hamas coming and committing atrocities.
01:49Hamas bears sole responsibility for this conflict, but as the secretary just described, we care about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
01:56That's why we have endorsed this measure to get aid in there.
01:59That's why we have seen this be a constant topic of conversation here at the podium and elsewhere.
02:05And what we are seeing from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's announcement is a creative way to get in there and make sure aid is reaching the people that actually need it.
02:12Do we have a timetable for this?
02:13I mean, do we—can we say, like, in two weeks, three weeks, a month, the aid can go in?
02:18Well, look, what we're looking to is that delivering of aid by the end of the month.
02:21But ultimately, I refer to the foundation for more details on the specifics of that.
02:27One follow-up on Gaza, and I will also ask on Syria.
02:31Can you give us—provide us more details about who will fund this new foundation, Gaza Foundation, and what role the U.S. will actually play in the aid delivery?
02:44Well, ultimately, I refer you to the foundation for more details on the specifics of that nature.
02:49As the Secretary has said, we welcome this announcement to get aid in there.
02:53But I defer you to the foundation—refer you to the foundation for more details.
02:56And on Syria, Secretary Rubio meets Syrian Foreign Minister Al-Shayban and Turkish Foreign Minister Haqqam Fidan today in Antalya, Turkey.
03:03You just shared a readout of the meeting.
03:07Secretary Rubio said right after the meeting that the U.S. will start with initial waivers instead of fully lifting the sanctions.
03:16Can you provide more details on, like, when and under what conditions these sanctions might be fully lifted?
03:25And, you know, will the U.S. do anything to contribute to the reconstruction of Syria?
03:34Was this discussed during the meeting, too?
03:36Look, what I can say, as the Secretary said during those comments, is that this is something that had been discussed, worked on, options considered, for many weeks leading up to this announcement, and that we are going to be implementing what the President has announced as an administration.
03:51In terms of exact timelines, I have nothing further to preview on that front now, except for to say the fact that we are moving now to implement this announcement.
03:58And this was something that was discussed, as the Secretary said himself, for many weeks leading up to this announcement.