US Promises to Support Israel in Prolonged Gaza War
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has affirmed Washington’s continued support for Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip after he was told by Tel Aviv that the regime’s onslaught on the besieged Palestinian territory “will last more than several months.”
Sullivan arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday, where he met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant.
Sullivan said he discussed the timeline of Israel’s war on Gaza — which in its third month now—with Netanyahu and other top officials.
“I’m here today on President [Joe] Biden’s behalf to emphasize our continued commitment to support Israel in its fight against Hamas.”
Sullivan made the remarks after Gallant told him that the bombardment of the Gaza Strip would last “more than several months.”
“It will require a period of time – it will last more than several months, but we will win and we will destroy them,” he said, referring to the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
The US diplomat said, “There’s no contradiction between saying the fighting is going to take months and also saying that the different phases will take place at different times over those months including the transition from high intensity operations to more targeted operations.”
Sullivan’s visit to Israel comes as US newspapers reported a growing rift between Netanyahu and his closest ally, Biden after the US president issued his toughest criticisms of Tel Aviv yet, warning that the regime was at risk of losing international support because of the “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza.
Nearly half of the 29,000 air-to-ground munitions that Israel has used in Gaza since October 7 have been unguided, otherwise known as “dumb bombs,” CNN reported on Thursday citing a new US intelligence assessment.
Biden administration officials told reporters on Wednesday that they wanted Tel Aviv to scale back its bombardment of Gaza within weeks.
“I think we all want it to end as soon as possible,” claimed White House spokesman John Kirby.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he and the US president disagree on what should happen to Gaza after the war. His foreign minister also said that Tel Aviv will continue the war in Gaza “with or without international support.”
According to a new analysis published by The Guardian, Netanyahu is taking Biden’s “guns, but not his advice.”
Israel started its relentless bombardment of Gaza on Oct.7 after Hamas launched the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying regime.
In the event, Netanyahu ordered Israeli military forces to attack the besieged Gaza Strip with a force “like never before.”
On Saturday, the Biden administration used an emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review.
The shells are part of a bigger sale that the administration is asking the US Congress to approve. The larger package is worth more than $500m and includes 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks, regularly deployed in its onslaught on Gaza.
The regime’s forces have so far killed more than 18,800 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Two-thirds of those killed in Gaza are women and children.
Source: Press TV