US President Joe Biden and top national security adviser Jake Sullivan have discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scaling back Israel’s high-intensity operations in Gaza, Reuters cites a senior US official as saying.
Sullivan told Israel’s Channel 12 television that he had “constructive” talks with Netanyahu about Israel shifting to a more precise and targeted phase of the operations, but declined to give details or a timeline for the change.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that the US was pushing for a shift to occur by the end of the year.
White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a regular media briefing that Sullivan discussed a possible transition to lower-intensity operations in “the near future”, but declined to provide a specific timetable. “Last thing we want to do is telegraph to Hamas what they’re likely to face in coming weeks and months,” he said.
Sullivan this week told a Wall Street Journal event that he would discuss ways to scale back the conflict during his visit to Israel as well as Israel’s timetable for the offensive.
