Netanyahu Tells Sullivan Israel to Fight Hamas 'Until Absolute Victory'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Tel Aviv on Thursday. (dpa)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Tel Aviv on Thursday. (dpa)
TT
20

Netanyahu Tells Sullivan Israel to Fight Hamas 'Until Absolute Victory'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Tel Aviv on Thursday. (dpa)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Tel Aviv on Thursday. (dpa)

Israel will pursue its war against Hamas "until absolute victory", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office.

Netanyahu said he spoke with Sullivan about regional threats, including Iranian proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen, securing the return of hostages being held by Hamas, and the continuation of humanitarian aid for Gaza's civilian population, according to Reuters.

"I told our American friends - our heroic fighters have not fallen in vain. From the deep pain of their falling, we are more determined than ever to continue to fight until Hamas is eliminated - until absolute victory," the statement said.

Israel's war in Gaza needs to "transition to the next lower intensity phase in a matter of weeks, not months," Sullivan told Netanyahu and members of the war cabinet in a meeting on Thursday, Axios reported from two US and Israeli officials.

"National Security Adviser Sullivan made clear in all meetings that the high-intensity kinetic campaign needed to transition to the next lower-intensity phase in a matter of weeks not months. [This is not] a deadline and we understand the campaign must and will continue, but in a lower intensity manner," a senior US official told Axios.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday told the visiting US National Security Adviser that the military campaign against Hamas will not be completed within the next few months.

Hamas built itself “over a decade to fight Israel, and they built infrastructure under the ground and above the ground and it is not easy to destroy them,” Gallant said, according to a readout from his office.

Gallant and Sullivan discussed operational developments in Gaza, as well as tensions in the north with Hezbollah, according to the same newspaper.



Sudan Lashes Out at Kenya's 'Hostile' Support for Rival Govt

Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Sudan Lashes Out at Kenya's 'Hostile' Support for Rival Govt

Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)

Sudan's army-aligned administration lashed out Monday at what it called Kenya's "irresponsible and hostile" support for efforts by Khartoum's paramilitary rivals to form a parallel government.

Since April 2023, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, once allies, have been locked in a power struggle that has dragged the country into war.

Late Saturday, the RSF and a coalition of political and armed groups signed in Nairobi a charter that would pave the way for a "peace and unity" government in rebel-held areas, with Kenya's foreign minister later saying the proposed administration would restore "democratic governance" in Sudan.

Sudan's foreign ministry condemned the "dangerous precedent" on Monday, saying that "in a grave threat to regional security and peace, the Kenyan leadership has adopted the parallel government that the genocidal militia and its followers intend to declare in some of the remaining pockets under their control".

The government, it added, would take "the necessary steps to respond to this irresponsible and hostile behavior".

Those steps appeared to be taking shape Monday, with foreign ministry undersecretary Hussein Al-Amin Al-Fadil telling a press conference in Port Sudan that "measures against Kenya are escalating, and there are arrangements for economic measures, including a ban on importing Kenyan products".

He also said Sudan was in the process of withdrawing its ambassador from Nairobi and would file a complaint against Kenya through regional and international channels.

Among the signatories of the charter was a faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, which controls parts of the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

The United Nations warned that the signing of the charter would "increase the fragmentation" of the war-torn country.

But in a post on X on Sunday, Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi called the charter "a peace agreement", describing the proposed administration as a "a unity government" that would restore "peace, stability, and democratic governance in Sudan".

In its statement, Khartoum accused Nairobi of creating a "false facade for the militia to directly obtain weapons", while "relieving regional sponsors of some embarrassment".

The foreign ministry said that this "would expand the scope of war and prolong its duration" and warned of potential damage to bilateral ties with Kenya.

Fadil said Monday that Kenyan President William Ruto "has known personal interests with the militia leader and its sponsors, and is betting on losing cards".

Saturday's signing of the charter comes as the army and its allied factions are making advances against the RSF in the capital Khartoum and in central Sudan.

The war in Sudan, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, erupted after a rift emerged between Burhan and Daglo over the future structure of the government.

The war has triggered the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.

Both warring sides face accusations of committing grave atrocities against civilians, with their leaders sanctioned by the US.