US to Israel: Start transitioning to low-intensity Gaza war
“We told the ICRC that we expect them to condemn Hamas’ war crimes, the massacre of over 1,200 people, the kidnapping, the rape of women. No humanitarian organization can be quiet."
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUpdated: DECEMBER 15, 2023 01:19Buildings lie in ruin as Palestinians carry their belongings following Israeli strikes on residential buildings at the Qatari-funded Hamad City, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip December 2, 2023. (photo credit: Ahmed Zakot/Reuters)
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to Israelis about transitioning its high-intensity military campaign in Gaza to a lower one during his visit to Tel Aviv on Thursday.“We all want it [the Gaza war] to end as soon as possible,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington as he provided details of Sullivan’s visit, which included conversations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minster Benny Gantz.Kirby underscored that Hamas bore responsibility for the war and that it could end now if the terror group surrendered and released the hostages.
“We’re not dictating terms to the Israelis about how long it [the Gaza war] has to take,” Kirby said, explaining that, “it has to take as long as they feel it needs to take to eliminate this threat” from Hamas.
“One of the things that Jake did talk to them about was progress in the war and where the Israelis think it is going to go," he said.“He did talk about possible transitioning from what we would call high-intensity operations — which is what we are seeing them do now — to what we call lower-intensity operations.”
IDF soldiers on the ground in Gaza, December 14, 2023 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)Assassination attempts permitted
Kirby backed IDF's attempts to assassinate top Hamas leaders, explaining that “if you can go after the leadership of a terrorist network you can have a very significant effect on their ability to plan, train, and execute attacks.”The US saw how effective such assassinations were with the leadership of Al-Qaeda and ISIS, he said, adding that the targeted killings did not eliminate the terror groups, but they did significantly weaken them.
“Both groups are radically diminished because we focused so much on their leadership,” Kirby said.The Biden administration has been under intense pressure to force Israel to end the war in light of the high casualty count. Hamas has asserted that close to 19,000 Palestinians have been killed in war-related violence. Israel has said that at least 7,000 of those fatalities are Hamas combatants.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in Geneva on Wednesday that he foresees more displacement in the Middle East due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas that has internally displaced 85% of Gaza's population."Tragically, however, we foresee more civilian deaths and suffering and also further displacement that threatens the region."In Tel Aviv on Thursday, Gallant stressed to Sullivan that it could take several months for Israel to complete its military campaign to oust Hamas from Gaza.
For over a decade Hamas has been building its "infrastructure under the ground and above the ground" and that to destroy the Islamist group "will require a long period of time - it will last more than several months, but we will win and we will destroy them.”
The IDF must be allowed to continue its military campaign in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed, Netanyahu told Sullivan.
“Our brave fighters have not died in vain. Out of the depth of the pain of their loss, we are more determined than ever to continue to fight until Hamas is destroyed, until total victory,” the prime minister said in a video statement he put out after the meeting.Sullivan arrived in Israel from Saudi Arabia where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. They discussed a normalization deal between Riyadh and Jerusalem, Kirby said.“The indications we have gotten from the Saudis is that they are still interested in pushing forward with that,” the NSC spokesman said.In Tel Aviv, Sullivan spoke with Israelis about the importance of reducing the civilian casualty count, the increased entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza and efforts underway to release the hostages.Hamas seized some 250 hostages and killed over 1,200 people when it infiltrated southern Israel on October 27. Some 110 of those hostages have been freed. Most of them were released as part of a deal by which the war was paused for seven days. It’s estimated that 135 people are remaining in captivity in Gaza.The US and Israel have continued to push for a resumption of the deal with the help of Qatar and Egypt, who mediated the first agreement.Kirby told reporters in Washington that the US was “working by the hour to try to get a pause back in place to get the hostages released,” adding that this was one of the things that Sullivan was “doing in the region.”Meanwhile, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric visited Israel on Thursday and met with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and families of the captives.Israel has been highly critical of the ICRC for failing to secure access to the hostages. The committee has blamed Hamas for not granting it access.
A Hamas terrorist interacts with members of the International Committee of the Red Cross. (credit: Hamas Military Wing/Handout via REUTERS)Spoljaric called for the release of the captives in a statement she posted on X on Thursday.Cohen said that the meeting between Spoljaric and the families of the captives was difficult.”For 67 days the ICRC has failed in its mission to visit the captives, to obtain proof of life, to check their physical condition and to provide them with medications,” Cohen said.The committee must use all channels available to reach the hostages, who include women, children and the elderly, Cohen said.“We demand immediate action from the Red Cross, without delay,” he said.“We told the ICRC that we expect them to condemn Hamas’ war crimes, the massacre of over 1,200 people, the kidnapping, the rape of women. No humanitarian organization can be quiet," the foreign minister said.“We also expect the ICRC to denounce Hamas’ use of civilian structure” for military purposes, he said.
