White House national security spokesman John Kirby had strong words Friday in response to an Israeli official who criticized a joint statement by the United States, Qatar and Egypt urging Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations toward a cease-fire and hostage release.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “not to fall into this trap and not to agree to a shift, even the slightest, from the red lines,” according to a translation of his statement.

Smotrich accused the nations trying to broker an agreement of setting a “distorted and dangerous starting point.” 

Among his grievances, Smotrich complained about a proposed exchange of hostages being held in the Gaza Strip for Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel. He said the plan creates an “illusory symmetry between the Israeli abductees — men, women and children — who were abducted from their beds with terrible cruelty, and despicable terrorists who murdered Jews.”

Smotrich blasted "intermediaries" who he believes are pushing for a “surrender agreement that will drain the … blood we shed in the most just war we are waging.”

In a call with reporters, Kirby said public statements like Smotrich’s are “jeopardizing the lives of the hostages and running counter Israel's own national security interests.”

Kirby disputed Smotrich’s claim that the deal would amount to an Israeli surrender and the Israeli official’s argument that hostages should not be exchanged for prisoners. 

“Mr. Smotrich essentially suggests that the war ought to go on indefinitely without pause and with the lives of the hostages of no real concern at all,” the White House spokesman said.

“His arguments are dead wrong," Kirby said. "They're misleading the Israeli public.”

Kirby noted that the agreement was negotiated over months. He said it “fully protects Israel's national security interests” and that Israeli forces would not withdraw entirely from Gaza during the first of three proposed phases.

“Suggestions that prisoners should never be traded for hostages and that doing so at this stage is somehow a surrender — let me remind you that most of Hamas' top leaders are now dead,” Kirby said. “Hamas’ organized military structure and capacity has been destroyed. Israel has now completed nearly all of its major military objectives other than the explicit war aim of bringing the hostages home.”

Kirby said swapping hostages for prisoners is sometimes necessary, noting the U.S. did so last week to free Americans and Russian opposition figures it believes were wrongfully detained in Russia. 

“Sometimes countries that value the lives of their citizens, as we do in the United States and as Israel does, make these kinds of trades to save innocent lives,” Kirby said.

Asked why he decided to publicly excoriate the senior Israeli official, Kirby responded that a better question is what made Smotrich “decide to put that statement — that outrageous and absurd statement — out?”

The joint statement by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt called on Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table to finalize a cease-fire and hostage release agreement. A meeting is being planned for Thursday in either Cairo or Doha, Qatar.

“There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay,” the statement reads. “It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement.”

Netanyahu has indicated he will send a delegation to the meeting. Hamas has not yet publicly responded to the statement.

Negotiations have been complicated by the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ political leader who was leading the talks through intermediaries.

The first phase of the proposed deal would last six weeks and establish a “full and complete cease-fire” as Israeli forces withdrew from densely populated areas of Gaza and humanitarian assistance into the region surged. Meanwhile, Hamas would release a number of hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded in exchange for Israel freeing hundreds of Palestinian protesters.

The second phase calls for the release of all remaining living hostages and Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza completely.

The final phase would focus on the reconstruction of Gaza.