US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met on Tuesday with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer to discuss shifting “to a different phase” of the Israel-Hamas war, a White House official said.
The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss steps to improve the humanitarian situation in war-torn Gaza and minimize harm to civilians, according to the official, who did not wish to be named.
It was also meant as a chance to speak on “the transition to a different phase of the war to maximize focus on high-value Hamas targets,” the official added.
The discussion comes after the UN Security Council agreed last week to a watered-down resolution calling for aid to be delivered to the Gaza Strip “at scale.” Gaza’s 2.4 million people are suffering dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine, with only limited aid entering.
After the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel launched an extensive aerial bombardment and a siege, followed by a ground invasion. The campaign has killed 20,915 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Tuesday meeting additionally provided a chance for Israel and the United States to elaborate on the eventual “governance and security in Gaza, a political horizon for the Palestinian people, and continued work on normalization and integration,” the White House official concluded.
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
