This post has been updated.
“Fox News Sunday” played a clip of a conversation Secretary of State John Kerry had with one of his aides about Israel before he went on air Sunday.
“While you were on camera and while on microphone, you just spoke to one of your top aides between the interviews about the situation in Israel and the fact that 14 Israelis have either been shot or killed in an operation,” host Chris Wallace said before playing the clip.
It’s unclear what the unnamed aide is saying to Kerry, but the Secretary of State’s comments are audible.
“It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation — hell of a pinpoint operation,” he said, which according to Fox was a reference to Israel’s ground operation in Gaza.
“We’ve got to get over there,” Kerry continues. “We ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around.”
At the end of the clip, Wallace confronts Kerry about what he said to his aide.
“When you said, ‘it’s a hell of a pinpoint operation,’ are you upset that the Israelis are going too far? And in fact do you intend to go back to the Middle East tonight?” Wallace asked.
“It’s very difficult in these situations,” Kerry responded before launching into a statement that the U.S. supports Israel’s self-defense.
“We support Israel’s right to defend itself against rockets that are continuing to come in,” he said.
“I reacted, obviously, in a way that anybody does with respect to young children and civilians, but war is tough,” he continued.
Kerry concluded by urging Hamas to agree to a cease-fire.
Watch the clip via National Review:
