US wants Israel-Hamas war to end ‘as soon as possible’
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Palestinians inspecting the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - The United States wants the Israel-Hamas war to end “as soon as possible”, the White House said on Dec 14, after Israel’s Defence Minister told a top US official it would last several months more.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had also discussed Israel moving to “low-intensity operations” against Gaza “in the near future”, during his visit to Tel Aviv, White House spokesman John Kirby said.
Mounting civilian casualties in Gaza as Israel responds to the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas have caused a growing rift between allies US and Israel.
“I think we all want it to end as soon as possible,” Mr Kirby told reporters at a briefing, adding that it “could end today” if Hamas backed down but “that doesn’t look likely right now”.
Mr Kirby said Washington was “not dictating terms” to Israel, and that the timeline given by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant was “consistent” with what Israeli officials had previously said.
But during his visit to Israel, top adviser Mr Sullivan had asked “hard questions” of Israeli officials about the course of their offensive against the Palestinian enclave, added the spokesman.
“He did talk about possible transitioning from what we would call high-intensity operations, which is what we’re seeing them do now, to lower intensity operations sometime in the near future,” Mr Kirby said.
“But I don’t want to put a timestamp on it.”
US President Joe Biden has strongly backed Israel but on Dec 12 he issued his strongest criticism yet, warning that Israel risked losing global support over “indiscriminate bombing.”
The war, now in its third month, began after the Palestinian group’s unprecedented Oct 7 attacks on Israel
In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and launched an unrelenting military offensive that has left swathes of Gaza in ruins. The Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 18,787 people have been killed, mostly women and children. AFP
