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U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, November 13, 2023.
WashingtonCNN –
President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday that there will be a transition to a different phase of the war focused on “more precise ways” to target the Hamas leadership.
“There will be a transition to a different phase of this war, one that focuses more precisely on targeting the leadership and on intelligence operations that continue to address the ongoing threat posed by Hamas,” Sullivan said in a press conference Tel Aviv.
Sullivan also said the US wants to see results on Israel's intention to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.
“Israel selects targets and tries to distinguish between targets that will hit Hamas and those that could cost the lives of innocent civilians,” Sullivan said in response to a question from CNN's Alex Marquardt.
“What we have said time and time again is that Israel intends to ensure that it makes these distinctions clearly and sustainably. And we want the results to match that,” Sullivan added.
Sullivan delivered a clear message to the Israeli government, days after a public spat opened up between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the increasing number of civilian casualties in Gaza.
Earlier this month, CNN reported that U.S. officials expect the current phase of Israel's ground operation to introduce a lower-intensity, hyperlocal strategy that specifically targets specific Hamas fighters and leaders, possibly by January.
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.
Sullivan made his comments ahead of a trip to the West Bank on Friday as part of his efforts to demonstrate continued U.S. support for Israel in its fight, while calling on the Israeli government to take meaningful steps to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza.
Sullivan met with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah on Friday on the second day of his trip to the region. According to the White House, during his meeting, Sullivan discussed efforts to increase the flow of “humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
The pair also discussed the Biden administration's desire for “a more peaceful, integrated and prosperous Middle East region,” the White House said, along with the Biden administration's desire for a “path to a two-state solution.” .
Sullivan met with Israeli Netanyahu and other senior government officials on Thursday. His meeting with Abbas comes amid a disagreement between Biden and Netanyahu, who disagree over whether the Palestinian Authority should have governing power in Gaza following the end of Israel's war with Hamas. The U.S. has said the Palestinian Authority should take over governing responsibility in Gaza after Israeli military operations end, but Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected that idea.
The Palestinian Authority is the Palestinian governing body in the West Bank. Hamas controls Gaza and presents itself as an alternative to the PA.
Vice President Kamala Harris' national security adviser, Phil Gordon, met with Abbas and other Palestinian leaders last week.
Sullivan's visit to Israel, his second since the deadly Hamas attack on the country on October 7, comes as Biden has become increasingly vocal about his desire for the Israeli government to take more concrete steps to eliminate civilian casualties in Gaza and Netanyahu is calling for a change from his hardliner positions.
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.
About 1,200 people, including Israelis and foreigners, were killed by Hamas militants during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, more than 18,000 people were killed in Gaza in the ensuing Israeli response.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN's Sophie Jeong and Manveena Suri contributed to this report.