Even as Israel expands its ground operation into the southern Gaza strip, the Biden administration is marking the start of 2024 as the target date for ending Israel’s massive military campaign in Gaza, according to Al-Monitor’s sources.

This is not a deadline, but a target. During a war, target dates can shift, the US-based publication said. But Americans clearly believe that Israel is close to exhausting the extensive ground invasion it launched on Oct 27 and should switch to more focused efforts to bring down Hamas, it added.

“The gap between us and the Americans is around three weeks to a month — nothing that cannot be resolved,” a highly placed Israeli diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

“If Secretary Blinken has marked Jan. 1 as a preferred target date for the beginning of the end of the Gaza operation, Israel wants the end of January as the target date,” the source said.

“That leaves three weeks in dispute. There will be no problem bridging it,” the source added.

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