WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The U.S. is pushing for changes in Israel’s offensive against Hamas as its military forces continued airstrikes and tank shelling.
Israel’s military said it mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during its ground operation. This comes as the White House’s national security advisor was in Israel to discuss scaling back the war.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with the presidents of Israel and Palestine Friday to try and deescalate the war between Israel and Hamas.
“We are now in the middle of a high intensity phase,” he said.
The Israel Defense Forces have continued heavy airstrikes and ground battles in Gaza with a rising civilian death toll. But Israel’s president says the IDF will soon transition to a new phase in the war.
“We can see the end of that campaign not far away, in the next few weeks,” said Isaac Herzog.
Palestine’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh wants an immediate ceasefire.
“The United States has been calling upon Israel to avoid killing civilians and so on. You cannot avoid killing civilians if you continue the war,” he said.
President Joe Biden has not called for a ceasefire but told Israel Thursday it must be more focused on how to save civilian lives.
Sullivan says he discussed a timeline for scaling back intense combat operations.
“One that is focused in more precise ways on targeting the leadership and on intelligence driven operations,” he said.
These leaders agreed the overall fight will take months and the Pentagon says the U.S. will continue to make sure it doesn’t turn in to a broader conflict in the Middle East.
The Pentagon’s top official, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, will continue these conversations during his visit to the region next week.
