The White House on Monday pushed back on reports from the Times of Israel and Washington Post that it is offering \u2018sensitive intelligence\u2019 to Israel on the whereabouts of Hamas leaders, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declines to engage in a full-scale invasion of Rafah.<\/p>\n
President Biden has in recent days warned Israel against incurring into the southern Gaza city, threatening to halt munitions shipments if an invasion commences.<\/p>\n
Four people familiar with the situation told the Washington Post the administration is offering intel on Hamas tunnels and the hideouts of its leaders if Israel pulls back.<\/p>\n
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a National Security Council spokesperson said the U.S. continues to help the IDF target Hamas leadership.<\/p>\n
\u2018[T]hat work continues on an ongoing basis. We\u2019re not holding anything back,\u2019 the official said.<\/p>\n
\u2018We believe [Hamas chief Yahya] Sinwar should and indeed must be held accountable for the horrors of the October 7 attack.\u2019<\/p>\n
Former Trump National Security Council official Victoria Coates told Fox News Digital late Monday that intelligence sharing is the \u2018bedrock of our security partnership with Israel.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s unique and extremely sophisticated, and if one partner is not fulfilling their obligations, it calls the whole thing into question,\u2019 Coates said.<\/p>\n
\u2018So, if the administration has information on Hamas leadership, which\u2026 still holds eight Americans \u2014 five alive and three dead in Gaza \u2014 and isn\u2019t sharing that with the Israelis and hasn\u2019t shared it with the Israelis, this is deeply troubling.\u2019<\/p>\n
Coates, who is now the Heritage Foundation\u2019s national security and foreign policy institute vice president, said that, if true, the report depicts the Biden administration as playing a \u2018political game\u2019 versus a battle for the survival of the Jewish State.<\/p>\n
When asked about allegations that the Biden administration has been playing politics with the Israel issue, Coates indicated Biden\u2019s need to win the youth vote, which she described as more in favor of the Palestinians than any other U.S. age bloc.<\/p>\n
\u2018That\u2019s what elected Biden in 2020 and staved off the red wave in 2022. So they know they need the 18-to-24 group. And what\u2019s been revealed over the last six months is that group is strongly pro-Palestinian, if not overtly pro Hamas,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
\u2018And so I think that\u2019s actually the demographic they\u2019re pandering to.\u2019<\/p>\n
Ric Grenell, who served as both Trump\u2019s intel chief and ambassador to Germany, called the president\u2019s behavior an \u2018impeachable offense.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Let\u2019s be clear, Joe Biden is using U.S. intelligence as a weapon to first demand help from Israel to win Michigan \u2014 when he should be providing every piece of intel we have in order to bring the American hostages held by Hamas home,\u2019 Grenell said on X, formerly Twitter.<\/p>\n