US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel on Monday to try to get a concrete timetable from Israeli military authorities for an end to the Gaza offensive, following growing international calls for a ceasefire .
This was reported by the Europa Press news agency. Sources close to the US government told CNN that Lloyd Austin will receive “specific updates” from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on the current phase of the military campaign.
On this occasion, the Defense Minister will “put pressure on the Israeli authorities to find out what yardstick they use to decide on the start of the next phase of the campaign.”
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed with Israel’s war cabinet the transition to a new phase of the conflict in Gaza, focusing on the “selective elimination” of the leadership of the Islamist movement Hamas.
“Right now we are in the middle of a very intense phase, marked by bombings and ground incursions in the north and south of Gaza. But there will be a transition, to a next phase, focused on the leadership (of Hamas), more focused on the use of intelligence data (secret services),” Jake Sullivan explained during a visit to the US Embassy in Jerusalem last year. Friday fair.
The American adviser refused to set a date for this new phase, although he had already discussed ‘deadlines and conditions’. with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli War Cabinet and the Army General Staff.
Jake Sullivan’s statements came a day after senior Biden administration officials anonymously assured the Times of Israel that the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, will be one of the main targets of this new phase and that “practically it could His days are said to be numbered.”
Source: DN
