JERUSALEM
\nWashington 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.
\nIsrael 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.
\n\u201cThere 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,\u201d the adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters during a visit to Israel.
\nIsrael\u2019s top war targets include Mohammed Deif, who heads Hamas\u2019 military wing and was the mastermind of the Oct. 7 assault; his second in command, Marwan Issa; and Hamas\u2019 leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
\nSullivan 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.
\n\u201cWhen exactly that happens and under exactly what conditions will be a continuing intensive discussion between the United States and Israel,\u201d he said.
\nAfter the meetings, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he told Sullivan the war would last \u201cmore than several months.\u201d
\nBehind closed doors, the White House has been pushing for a faster end to the high intensity phase of the war, US officials have said.
\nUS President Joe Biden warned this week that international opinion was swinging against Israel because of high civilian casualties in Gaza.
\nSullivan declined to answer when asked whether the United States could hold back military aid if the war does not enter a lower intensity phase with fewer civilian casualties, saying the best way to reach an agreement was in private discussions.
\nSullivan said the US wanted \u201cto see the results\u201d that match Israel\u2019s 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.
\nHe is due to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JERUSALEM 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-374754","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n