Sullivan Says Hamas Tactics “Incredible Burden”, Tackles Hezbollah’s “Threat”
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan Hamas’s tactics in Gaza have placed “an incredible and unusual burden” on the Israeli army.
At a press conference on Friday, Sullivan said Hamas’s tactics in Gaza have placed “an incredible burden on the IDF, a burden that is unusual for a military in today’s day and age.”
“Israel doesn’t have the opportunity to meet Hamas on a field of battle in a way in which civilians are off to one side and the terrorists are off to the other side,” he said.
Meanwhile, the US official said there is no disagreement between Tel Aviv and Washington “that the fight against Hamas in Gaza will take months,” while adding that both sides “agree that there will be a transition from the current high-intensity phase to one of precision operations.”
“The White House has “had very good discussions” on the timeline and the transition to the next phases of the conflict,” but “We’re not here to tell anybody you must do X, you must do Y.”
On the other hand, Sullivan tackled Hezbollah’s threat to the Zionist entity’s northern front.
“The citizens of Israel who have been evacuated from the north have to be able to return to their homes and have to be able to do so with a true sense of security.”
“And that means dealing with the threat that comes from the other side of the border.”
However, he said, Washington still believes “that threat can be dealt with through diplomacy and does not require the launching of a new war.”
But it also requires “deterrence as well, because we need to send a clear message that we will not tolerate the kinds of threats and terrorist activity that we have seen from Hezbollah and from the territory of Lebanon.”
Source: Agencies