White House in ‘intensive’ talks with Israel on next phase of Gaza war, aide says

Washington is pushing Israel to focus the war in Gaza on precise targeting of Hamas leaders rather than widespread bombing and ground operations, the White House national security adviser said on Friday, without saying when the shift would happen.

Israel has so far resisted increasing global pressure to rein in an offensive that has killed almost 19,000 Palestinians since the Hamas assault that killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7.”There will be a transition to another phase of this war, one that is focused in more precise ways on targeting the leadership and on intelligence driven operations,” the adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters during a visit to Israel.Israel’s top war targets include Mohammed Deif, who heads Hamas’ military wing and was the mastermind of the Oct. 7 assault; his second in command, Marwan Issa; and Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.Sullivan said he had discussed the timing of such a transition in his meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the war cabinet and military chiefs on Thursday.

via Reuters