WashingtonCNN –
President Joe Biden said Thursday he wants the Israeli military to focus on saving civilian lives as it wages its campaign to destroy Hamas and faces increasing pressure over its military operations in Gaza.
After a speech about prescription drug prices at the National Institutes of Health, the president was asked whether he wanted the Israeli government to scale back its attacks against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“I want them to focus on how to save civilian lives. “Don’t stop going after Hamas, just be more careful,” Biden responded.
The comments came as Biden's national security adviser met with senior Israeli officials over the next two days, as the White House pressed the Israelis to be more precise in their operations against Hamas in Gaza.
Jake Sullivan's visit comes as a public spat has emerged between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the rising number of civilian casualties in Gaza and disagreements over what the Palestinians' future should look like after the fighting ends has. Sullivan will also discuss efforts to release the eight American hostages who remain under Hamas control.
Sullivan met with Netanyahu on Thursday and will meet with other senior Israeli officials, including President Isaac Herzog, through Friday.
Sullivan discussed shifting Israel's attack on Hamas to “lower-intensity operations” in the near future, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday.
Kirby said Sullivan asked “tough questions” about the Israeli offensive, including efforts to be more surgical and precise in targeting. And Sullivan cited the need to move on to a new phase of the conflict that has killed thousands of civilians in Gaza.
“He talked about a possible transition from high-intensity operations like we're seeing now to lower-intensity operations at some point, you know, in the near future,” Kirby said.
The Biden administration has signaled to Israel that it wants to move to a lower-intensity phase in the war against Hamas within weeks – possibly by the end of the year, according to a senior US official.
The U.S. hopes a new phase would minimize the number of civilian deaths that have increased in Gaza and sparked international outrage.
CNN reported last week that U.S. officials expect the current phase of Israel's ground invasion of Gaza, targeting the southern end of Gaza, to last several weeks before Israel moves to a less intense, hyperlocal strategy, possibly in January that narrowly targets specific Hamas fighters and leaders.
Sullivan spoke with Israeli officials on Thursday about “grading” Israel's conflict in Gaza, hoping for a change in strategy, a senior U.S. government official said.
The U.S. expects Israel to move to a lower-intensity strategy focused on intelligence raids against Hamas, the official said, although the timing of that shift would depend on conditions on the ground.
The talks amounted to a “back and forth” conversation between the US and Israel, the official said.
“The Israelis have briefed us on their thinking about possible time frames and Jake had a very good discussion about the kind of conditions that we obviously all hope will be created,” the official said.
U.S. officials say they know Israel will continue to act against the Hamas leadership and believe it is critical for them to overthrow the Hamas leadership. But they have continually pushed Israel to take measures to protect civilians while it takes action against the group responsible for the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
“It's not really about time frames, but about the conditions that are set. And the Israelis have briefed us in great detail about how their entire campaign will unfold,” the senior administration official said, adding that it would be “irresponsible for anyone involved in these issues to talk about time frames.”
But in a statement released after his meeting with Sullivan, Netanyahu said he would be satisfied with nothing less than a complete victory against Hamas.
“Our heroic soldiers did not fall in vain,” said the Israeli prime minister. “Out of the deep pain of their fall, we are more determined than ever to fight on until Hamas is eliminated – to absolute victory.”
At a meeting on Thursday, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Sullivan that the war in Gaza would last “more than several months,” according to the Israeli Defense Ministry.
“It will take some time – it will take more than several months, but we will win and we will destroy them (Hamas),” Gallant said, according to a transcript of the meeting released Thursday by the Israeli Defense Ministry.
Gallant also thanked Sullivan for U.S. support of Israel's campaign in Gaza, saying, “The United States and Israel have common interests, common values, and in this war we also have common goals.”
According to a statement from Netanyahu's office, the prime minister and Sullivan also “emphasized their determination to secure the release of all hostages remaining in Gaza.”
“Both sides discussed continuing the war until victory and achieving common goals, especially the elimination of Hamas, the release of the hostages, the dismantling of Hamas's military capabilities and the end of its rule in Gaza,” Netanyahu's spokesman said said on X.
Asked how much influence the government had over Israel's war plans, the official said the U.S. successfully advised Israel to change some of its plans in the early days of the conflict.
“The Israelis had very early ideas for the military campaign that we found problematic,” the official said, pointing to Biden’s visit to Israel as a turning point when plans for the ground campaign were “adjusted” based on American advice and recommendations.
Eight Americans are among more than 100 hostages held by Hamas since the group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel. More than 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed in the attack.
According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, more than 18,000 Palestinians were killed and more than 50,000 injured in the ensuing Israeli response.
Biden met with family members of the eight American hostages at the White House on Wednesday.
Before arriving in Israel, Sullivan traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a person familiar with the matter said.