White House in ‘Intensive’ Talks with Israel on Timing of Next Phase of Gaza War

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 15, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 15, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
TT
20

White House in ‘Intensive’ Talks with Israel on Timing of Next Phase of Gaza War

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 15, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 15, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

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, amid signs of differences over timing.

Israel has so far resisted increasing global pressure to rein in the Gaza offensive, which 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.

"When exactly that happens and under exactly what conditions will be a continuing intensive discussion between the United States and Israel," he said.

Sullivan said he had discussed the timing of the shift at his meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the war cabinet and military chiefs on Thursday.

Prior to his meetings, senior US officials said the less intense phase should begin within weeks, the New York Times and Axios reported, but Israel's defense minister said he told Sullivan the war would last "more than several months."

In his comments on Friday, Sullivan also said the war would last months, but said tactics would evolve during that timeframe.

Sullivan declined to answer when asked whether the United States could hold back military aid if Israel does not reduce civilian casualties, saying the best way to reach an agreement was in private discussions.

Coinciding with Sullivan's visit, Israel announced it had opened a second border crossing with Gaza for humanitarian aid, a move that was welcomed by Washington.

Sullivan also met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday. Abbas told Sullivan that Israel's attack on Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, must stop, the official WAFA news agency reported.

FASTER END

Behind closed doors, the White House has been pushing for a faster end to the high intensity phase of the war, US officials have said.

White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a regular media briefing on Thursday that Sullivan had discussed the shift happening in "the near future."

President Joe Biden wants Israel to switch tactics in about three weeks, the New York Times reported, citing four US officials.

Biden warned this week that international opinion was swinging against Israel because of high civilian casualties in Gaza.

Sullivan said the US wanted "to see the results" that match Israel's assurances that it distinguishes between civilians and militants.  

He criticized Hamas for using civilians as shields, saying fighters were operating from schools and hospitals, a charge the group denies.

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.



US Says It’s Aware of Palestinian American Teen’s Killing by Israeli Forces in West Bank 

Mourners carry the body of 14-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Mohammad Rabea, during his funeral at Turmus Ayya village near Ramallah , 07 April 2025. (EPA)
Mourners carry the body of 14-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Mohammad Rabea, during his funeral at Turmus Ayya village near Ramallah , 07 April 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

US Says It’s Aware of Palestinian American Teen’s Killing by Israeli Forces in West Bank 

Mourners carry the body of 14-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Mohammad Rabea, during his funeral at Turmus Ayya village near Ramallah , 07 April 2025. (EPA)
Mourners carry the body of 14-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Mohammad Rabea, during his funeral at Turmus Ayya village near Ramallah , 07 April 2025. (EPA)

The US State Department said on Tuesday it was aware of the killing by Israeli forces of a Palestinian American teenager in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and was seeking more information about the incident.

A State Department spokesperson made the comments to reporters when asked about the killing of US citizen Omar Mohammad Rabea, 14, and the shooting of two other teenagers.

"We are certainly aware of that dynamic," the State Department spokesperson said. "There is an investigation that is going on. We are aware of the reports from the Israeli army that this was a counterterrorism act, we need to learn more about the nature of what happened on the ground."

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the weekend incident as an "extra-judicial killing" by Israeli forces during a raid. A local mayor said Rabea was shot along with two other teenagers by an Israeli settler and that the Israeli army pronounced him dead after detaining him.

The Israeli military said it shot a "terrorist" who endangered civilians by hurling rocks.

"We don't have the complete picture of what was going on the ground," the State Department spokesperson added.

The family of the teenager, who was a New Jersey native, said he was shot multiple times. Local community leaders gathered at the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, New Jersey, on Tuesday to pay tribute to him and demand justice.

Israel has expanded and consolidated settlements in the occupied West Bank as part of the steady integration of these territories into the state of Israel in breach of international law, the UN human rights office said last month.

Settler violence in the West Bank, including incursions into occupied territory and raids, has intensified since the start of Israel's war in Gaza that has killed over 50,000, according to Gaza's health ministry, and led to genocide and war crimes accusations that Israel denies.

The Israeli onslaught in Gaza followed a Hamas attack in October 2023 in which 1,200 were killed and about 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.