In Thursday's State Department press briefing, Spokesman Matthew Miller (presumably) inadvertently shot down the idea of a "ceasefire now" being pushed by apparent Hamas sympathizers who serve as Democrat members of Congress and their anti-Israel allies such as the group "Jewish Voice for Peace."
When asked about the United Nations' position of seeking a ceasefire, the senior Biden administration official flatly rejected the idea. "That is not our policy," Miller responded before briefly explaining why it's not an option on the table for the United States government — no matter how many times a teary-eyed Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) lies about what Israel has allegedly done in her demands for one.
"We support Israel’s right to defend itself," Miller reiterated. "You have to remember that Israel is still under attack," he noted (emphasis added). "Hamas is still launching rocket attacks at Israel that have killed innocent civilians, and we believe Israel ought to have the right to defend itself against those attacks."
It's that simple. Hamas and other Iran-backed terrorist barbarians inside the Gaza Strip have been launching rockets indiscriminately into Israel since the surprise assault began on October 7. Rocket alerts continue to sound across Israel as Hamas and — in at least the case of the misfire that caused a blast at a hospital in Gaza City — Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired their weapons from Gaza toward Israeli civilians. Most of which, thankfully, are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome.
A "ceasefire now" would mainly benefit Hamas and other Gaza terrorists. It would give them a reprieve to reassess their strategy, replenish their weapons, and ramp up preparations for further attacks. Hamas never cared about the people living under its government in the Gaza Strip — otherwise, it would have assisted them in evacuating the northern portion of the Gaza Strip instead of establishing roadblocks and telling citizens — human shields to terrorists — to stay.
It's worth noting that the State Department, as was reported earlier this week, put out word to its staff not to issues calls for ceasefires or restraint after accounts on X run by Foggy Bottom twice had to be deleted for urging "restraint" from both sides and encouraged Turkey to pursue a ceasefire. To expect Israel not to eliminate the terrorists who slaughtered its people and decimate terrorists' ability to carry out future attacks is insane, yet that appeared to be the knee-jerk reaction in the immediate aftermath of the massacre.
But whether Miller believed what he said on Thursday afternoon's briefing or was simply following the recent guidance doesn't matter — what he said is true. A "ceasefire now" is not, and should not be the United States government's goal, until the terrorists responsible for the October 7 and subsequent attacks on Israel have been dealt with.