Kirby says US has not seen Israeli plan to evacuate civilians in Rafah ahead of offensive in area

White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said on Sunday the United States “haven’t seen” Israel’s plan to evacuate civilians in Rafah amidst reports of heightened military activities.

In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” host Shannon Bream asked Kirby if he expects to get a plan before the offensive starts.

“We would certainly welcome the opportunity to get a look at what their plans are before they move into Rafah. And I think it’s important for your viewers to understand they have not done that yet. They have not moved into Rafah,” Kirby said.

Bream then played Kirby a clip of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), where he questioned the efficacy of aid efforts.

“So in essence, can they guarantee that we’re going to go through all this trouble, put American lives on the line just so aid can be distributed to Hamas,” Rubio said in the clip.

Responding to Rubio’s comments, Kirby underscored that Hamas is not the sole entity involved in aid distribution in the region.

“Well, in all fairness and with respect to the senator, Hamas isn’t the only group distributing aid. There are many aid organizations on the ground that — that are helping with the distribution of food, water, medicine,” he said.

Bream further pressed Kirby on U.S. troops’ involvement and ensuring Hamas does not seize aid.

“We have been watching this very closely and we haven’t seen evidence that Hamas has pilfered off a lot of the humanitarian assistance in a nefarious way. Nobody’s making excuses for them or what they’ve done to Gaza and the Gazan people and how they put the Gazan people at risk, or how they certainly put the Israeli people at risk. Not at all. But there are other organizations that are doing that,” Kirby said.

Last week, Israel said it planned to direct Palestinians out of Rafah toward “humanitarian islands” in the center of the territory ahead of the offensive.