In a meeting with a group of journalists accredited to the United Nations at the US mission headquarters on Wednesday, the Coordinator for Strategic Policy at the US National Security Council at the White House, John Kirby, said, “There are many civilians who have suffered as a result of the conflict in Gaza, and President Biden is working hard, sincerely and forcefully to end this war.” He said that the attempt to bring the parties together to reach a ceasefire is still ongoing.

Kirby considered that the leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Yahya Sinwar, “is the main obstacle to reaching a ceasefire at the present time,” noting that “the United States is making intensive diplomatic efforts between Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah to try to reduce tensions in the area surrounding the Blue Line, up and down, so that families on both sides can return to their homes and live in peace.”

Kirby said, in his opening introduction to the meeting held on the sidelines of the 79th session of the General Assembly, “We are very excited to be returning to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. This is an event that the president looks forward to every year. “It’s a rare opportunity for all the world leaders to talk about a range of issues, issues that affect us all in some way or another in almost every way. And I think you’ll see that play out over the next few days,” Kirby said.

“When President Biden took office four years ago, almost four years ago, he pledged to restore American leadership on the world stage. And given that this is his last General Assembly as president of the United States, it’s an opportunity for him to talk about how that approach has produced real results not just for the American people but for people around the world. We’re going into the General Assembly, of course, at a difficult time. The president described it in his remarks as a turning point, and that’s exactly the way we look at it. There’s a turning point on many levels.”

“We have active conflicts in Sudan, in the Middle East, in Gaza, and of course the tensions between Israel and Lebanon right now and the attacks,” Kirby added.

In response to a question about what Kirby called “the leadership and positive role of the Biden administration,” where is that leadership in the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the steps taken by the Biden administration to end the war, he said: “I don’t know of any other leader who has invested the energy and effort and sought to end the war in Gaza, as President Biden has done since October 7 to end the war and is still making efforts.” Kirby stressed Israel’s right to defend itself.

Kirby said that “his country, more than any other country, is making continuous efforts to try to end this conflict and restore peace and security to the Middle East so that we can make progress on the path to a two-state solution.” He stressed that the president is very confident that his national security team will continue to work during the rest of his term and work to achieve this.

Regarding the suffering of civilians, Kirby said: “Obviously, many Israelis have suffered because of Hamas and Hezbollah, but also many innocent Palestinians living in Gaza and now innocent Lebanese are suffering and being killed and injured, their lives have been disrupted, their homes have been destroyed.”

On Sudan, Kirby said that it is essential for all countries that have an interest in ensuring that the Sudanese have access to food, water, medicine... and a minimum of peace and security to live in. He spoke about the need for all countries to work to convince both sides, the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, to return to the negotiating table and end this war.