John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, fired back on Thursday when asked by TV Globo’s Raquel Krähenbühl about President Joe Biden’s comments about the deaths of civilians in the war in Gaza.

Krähenbühl asked Kirby whether he thought it was insensitive for the President to say that “innocents will die and that this is the price of the war” and whether Biden would apologize.

Kirby said Biden would not apologize and dismissed her assertion that Biden’s comments were harsh

“What’s harsh is the way Hamas is using people as human shields. What’s harsh is taking a couple of hundred hostages and leaving families anxious, waiting and worrying to figure out where their loved ones are. What's harsh is dropping in on a music festival and slaughtering a bunch of young people just trying to enjoy an afternoon. I could go on and on. That's what's harsh,” he said.

“And being honest about the fact that there have been civilian casualties and that there likely will be more is being honest, because that's what war is. It's brutal. It's ugly. It's messy. I've said that before. President also said that yesterday,” added Kirby.

“Doesn't mean we have to like it. And it doesn't mean that we're dismissing anyone of those casualties. Each and every one is a tragedy in its own right...and each and every one we should try to prevent. And that is why we’re in close contact with our Israeli counterparts, to do everything we can to help them minimize the risk to civilians that are in harm’s way. It would be helpful if Hamas would let [Gazans] leave....we know that there are thousands waiting to leave Gaza writ large, and Hamas is preventing them from doing it. That is what is harsh,” he stated.